Unanswered Prayers
by SofiaSofiaSofia
Summary: Callie and Arizona plan to start a family after the shooting. What happens if their plans are different than what happens in reality?
1. Plans

**A/N: This is an idea I came up with about what could have happened after the Season 6 finale. Callie and Arizona plan to start a family after the shooting. What happens if their plan is a little different than what happens in reality? The only thing different is that Meredith didn't miscarry. She's still pregnant.**

* * *

><p>The shooting had made everyone at Seattle Grace Mercy West rethink things. They all could have lost their lives that day – some of them did – and that fact was not lost on any of them. Plans changed and priorities shifted, making most of them better people and better doctors.<p>

The shooting hadn't changed anyone's plans as much as it had changed the plans of Doctors Torres and Robbins, though. They had started that day on shaky ground and had ended it by deciding that they couldn't spend a day without each other. Marriage and babies were suddenly something that they both looked forward to. Everyone hesitated to say that anything good came as a result of the shooting, but if anything had, that was it. Two people who were made for each other had realized just how much they needed each other. They just wished it wouldn't have taken such a tragedy to realize it.

"Are you sure about this?" Colonel Daniel Robbins asked his daughter as she drove them from the airport to the hospital, where Callie would hopefully have a few minutes to spare so that she could meet them.

"Dad, I'm sure," Arizona laughed. "It's a week before the wedding. We have dresses and rings and vows. I'm very, very sure."

"What your father is trying to say," Barbara Robbins said, "not that I agree, is that –"

"That you know Calliope wants babies and I didn't. And you're wondering if I'm just caving because I don't want to lose her. And you don't want me to regret it later. Am I correct?"

"Yes," Daniel nodded.

Arizona took a deep breath. She understood, and even appreciated, her father's concern. If she was doing this for the wrong reasons, she wanted them to point it out. However, she knew she wasn't. She was more than sure that a family with Calliope Torres was just what was supposed to happen. She had always loved children, but it wasn't until she and Callie were taking care of little Ruby together that she was certain that parenting was in her future. If she, Callie, and Ruby got each other through that, she Callie, and their children could make it through anything as a family. It couldn't get any worse than that day. Plus, the good times would be so, so good.

"Dad, I love that you want to be sure I'm happy. Thank you. But I promise you that a family with Callie is what I want. Shootings change people. Thank God it changed me for the better."

"Okay," he said. "I just had to ask one more time."

"You are happy for us, right?"

"Yes," he said.

"Very," his wife added. "Calliope sounds lovely."

"Oh, that's another thing. Callie doesn't let many people call her Calliope."

"But it's her name," Daniel said.

"She doesn't like it," she replied. "It's kind of like when I was in first grade. Remember how I had the whole class convinced my real name was Erin because I didn't understand why the meaning behind my name was so significant and I hated it? It's like that. Except that Calliope's name doesn't have a cool story, so she never outgrew hating it."

"But you call her it?" Barbara asked.

"I think it's nice and she puts up with it wonderfully because she knows I love it," she smiled.

"I see."

"She's amazing. You'll love her."

* * *

><p>"Have you seen my fiancé?" Arizona asked Mark when she and her parents arrived at Seattle Grace. "I paged her, but she didn't answer."<p>

"I know Hunt wanted her for a consult," he said. "She might be down there."

"Okay."

"Let's go check," Barbara said.

"Oh, no. You don't want to go down there. The ER is filled with blood and nastiness. With your weak stomach, that's not a good idea."

"You must be the Robbins," Mark smiled. "I'm Mark Sloan. Callie's best man."

"She has a best man?" Barbara asked. "Isn't a maid of honour more fitting?"

"I don't look as good in a dress," he replied.

"It's a little unorthodox," she said. "That's all. But it's nice to meet you."

"Mom, it's a lesbian wedding. The whole thing's a little unorthodox," Arizona replied. "And I have a maid of honour," she told her. "So one of us is keeping things traditional, okay?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"Why is tradition so important anyway?"

"You'll see when you have a daughter and she gets married. You just want everything perfect. That's all."

"You're already marrying off my children?" she asked. "Before I've had them?"

"I'm pretty sure Callie's been discussing similar things with Tuck," Mark said. "And I for one could totally see your kid marrying Shepherd's little girl."

Meredith was twenty-one weeks pregnant and they had just had an ultrasound done today.

"It's a girl?" Arizona smiled.

"They found out today," he nodded. "I probably wasn't supposed to tell you that now that I think about it."

"Can you ever keep a secret?"

"I didn't tell Derek that I had lived with his wife. Does that count?"

"And he's the best man?" Daniel asked.

"It was a long time ago," Arizona said. "And yeah. Way to make an impression, Sloan. Thanks."

"Anytime," he said as he walked away.

* * *

><p>"Sorry I didn't come right away!" Callie apologized as she walked up. "I was on a consult with Hunt. I get to basically rebuild an entire pelvis today!"<p>

"Ouch to the person with the shattered pelvis," Arizona said. "But yay?"

"I'm Callie," she said as she shook Arizona's parents' hands. "It's so nice to meet you."

"We've heard a lot about you," Barbara smiled. "It's good to finally meet you."

"Same here."

"When are your parents flying in, Callie?" Daniel asked.

"Well…"

"It's complicated," Arizona said.

"No, it's okay," Callie replied. "My mom's decided not to."

"Not to come to your wedding?" Barbara asked. "Why?"

"She's very…" She couldn't find the word. "She doesn't really support us. She doesn't think that two women getting married is a real wedding."

"I'm sorry."

"But my dad's coming. Which almost didn't happen. But he is. Thank God. I mean, I'm sure it's probably not making my mom happy, but it means a lot to me."

"Good."

"He'll be here on Thursday."

"Oh."


	2. Trying

**A/N: The amount of people who have subscriped to this fic already made me really excited. Thanks, guys. I also enjoy comments from those who like my writing, so feel free to review if you want more.  
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* * *

><p>The wedding day had been great. Callie and Arizona had spent the morning getting ready together without even so much as one page from the hospital. Of course they would have gone in if they were needed, but it was also nice to be able to focus on just being brides that day.<p>

Callie's only complaint about the day was that her mother and sister were not supportive enough to be there. She missed them and she really wished they would've wanted to be a part of her wedding day. However, she was excited to have her father come; she knew that had to have been difficult for him to go against what his wife wanted and she appreciated that he saw how important it was to be there anyway.

The week after the wedding was spent in Spain. They had a wonderful time and they almost forgot what their "normal" life was like because their honeymoon was so far removed from their typical days.

Their first week back to the long hours at the hospital was exhausting, but they found themselves feeling grateful that they were at least both surgeons. They could steal a few minutes and spend some time together at work. It wasn't ideal, but they didn't mind it that much. They just wondered how surgeons whose new spouses didn't work in the hospital handled it.

After awhile, they readjusted to their typical routine and life at the hospital became the norm again. Before they knew it, they were celebrating their one month anniversary.

"Best month of my life," Callie told her wife.

"Yep," Arizona smiled.

They were certainly still feeling like giddy newlyweds who couldn't keep their hands off of each other, but that wasn't something they wanted to stop anytime soon. Most of the time, they still couldn't believe everything that had happened in the last seven months since the shooting. It had definitely sped up their plans.

"When are we going to start looking into fertility specialists?" Callie asked, blurting it out because she didn't know how else to handle it.

"When do you want to?"

"Arizona, I've been ready for kids for a long, long time now," she chuckled. "I'm asking you."

"I say we start looking now."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"I thought you'd want to just be married for awhile."

"Things change," she smiled. "And I mean, we won't have a baby tomorrow. Fertility treatments don't happen overnight."

"I know," she said. "Plus, I want us to be the kind of parents that just go about life with our kids. I don't want to become boring just because we have a baby."

"Yeah," Arizona agreed. "How many do you want?"

"Probably way more than you," she laughed. "But I'd be okay with just two if that's all we ever had."

"Two's good," she said. "Yeah. I loved having my brother around. I think I'd want two, too."

"Okay."

"I don't know about more than two, but…"

"We'll talk about that when the time comes," Callie said.

* * *

><p>It took them another month to get an appointment with the fertility specialist of their choice and to select a sperm donor. Callie began taking Clomid to help simulate her ovaries in hopes that she would produce more eggs and therefore have a higher chance of getting pregnant. She and Arizona questioned if this was necessary since Callie was capable of ovulating on her own and the drug gave them a higher chance of having multiples, but the doctor said that he found that most IUI cycles were more successful if a low dose of Clomid was taken.<p>

"What's wrong with you?" Mark asked when a teary-eyed Callie walked up to him at the vending machine one day.

"Arizona sucks," she said.

"That's nice," he laughed.

"Okay, so she doesn't suck exactly. She's just a good, dedicated surgeon. But she hasn't been home for dinner all week and tonight she was supposed to be. I was all set to make –"

"And she's got a patient?"

"Yes."

"So you're crying about it?"

"It's the damn Clomid," she told him. "If I'm this hormonal now, what'll be like when I get pregnant?"

"It's normal, though," Mark said.

"I know. But I just yelled at her because she's staying to save a toddler's life."

"Oh. I'm sure she gets it."

"Probably," she said. "But still. This just keeps happening."

"Robbin's loves you," Mark told her. "I'm sure she's not mad. Or at least not that mad."

"It would be nice if I was a little less moody, though."

"Yeah."

"You're not supposed to agree."

"Oh," he said. "Well, Lexie's birthday is tomorrow. Wanna help me figure out how to bake a cake?"

"Sure," she agreed. "But you baking? Why can't you just buy a nice one?"

"Because we just got back together a few weeks ago and Shepherd says it's much more romantic."

"You're gonna look to Derek for relationship advice?" she asked. "I mean, he's got it all figured out now, but he hasn't always been so great in that department."

"Has anyone who works here?" he pointed out.

"Bailey was married for a really long time."

"Bailey isn't easy to get advice from on these things."

"True."

* * *

><p>"Cupcakes?" Arizona asked when she finally did arrive home that night.<p>

Callie was waiting up for her with two cupcakes on the coffee table. They were decorated with pink and yellow icing and Arizona couldn't figure out what the occasion was.

"Mark and I baked Little Grey a birthday cake," Callie told her. "We had some batter left over, so I thought I'd make a little peace offering."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry I've been so mean lately."

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it home for dinner," she said as she sat down and picked up a cupcake. "Sloan made these?"

"I helped," she said. "They won't kill you."

"Good," she smiled. She took a bite. "These are pretty good," she said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"I called and made another appointment with Dr. Sterling's office."

"For…?"

"Thursday at three."

"Okay," she smiled.

"How crazy is that?" she asked. "Thursday, we could make a baby."

"It's awesome," she replied. "I was working with Meredith today and all she could talk about was the baby. They're naming her Audrey."

"Oh."

"It just made me that much more excited for our turn."

"I'm just excited you're excited."

"I know," she said. "It's kinda crazy. But I love it."

"I just hope this isn't an indication of how hormonal I'm gonna be then."

"We'll deal with it," Arizona promised. "Somehow. It's not worth getting mad at you when I know it's only a mood swing and in an hour you're gonna be…you again."

She laughed.


	3. I'm Fine

**A/N: This chapter's a bit shorter, but the next one should be longer. This one just seemed better when it was short.**

It had been two weeks since Callie had gone through the IUI procedure. This morning she had had a blood test done and now all they had to do was wait on the results from the lab. To them – especially to Callie – this was just a formality. She was absolutely sure she was pregnant. Even when their friends tried to warn them that their feelings didn't mean much, they couldn't help it.

Perhaps they were getting a little ahead of themselves, but they were already thinking about baby names.

"I thought of one I really like," Arizona said.

"For…?"

"A boy."

"What is it?"

"Sebastian."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"No."

"What's wrong with Sebastian?"

"It's too…crab."

"Just because –"

"That's just the association I have."

"Fine."

"Maybe we should wait to see if there even is a baby before we argue over its name," Arizona laughed.

"There is," Callie said.

"I think so, too."

* * *

><p>Unfortunately they were wrong. Her blood work didn't show any sign of a pregnancy.<p>

"You okay?" Arizona asked her.

"Fine," she smiled. "Can't miss what we didn't have."

"Calliope…"

"We'll try again," she replied. "I mean, it's not like I have actual fertility problems. We just don't have a whole lot of options in terms of how to do this. So it's gonna work eventually. It just wasn't this time."

"It's okay to be upset."

"I'm fine."

* * *

><p>Mark found them later that afternoon. "Audrey's here," he said, showing off the baby girl's picture on his phone. "Meredith had a really, really quick labour. She was born ten minutes after they got here. But she's perfect. Seven pounds, one ounce."<p>

Arizona shook her head, trying to warn him that today probably wasn't the day to say anything else. She understood his excitement and she was happy for Meredith and Derek, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little disappointed that the round of IUI hadn't been a success. It had to be even more bittersweet for Callie.

"Oh my God," Mark realized. "I forgot today was –"

"Well, it didn't work. So whatever," Callie told him.

"Sorry."

"We can try again next month. No big deal. It just didn't happen the first time."

"Yeah."

"I'm fine," Callie said. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"All sad."

"I'm not."

"You are." Her pager went off and she walked away after giving Arizona a quick kiss.

"She's so not okay," Mark said.

"Nope," Arizona replied. "But she's right that this doesn't mean anything. It's not like she has fertility issues."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Even though they were disappointed that they weren't going to have their own baby just yet, both Callie and Arizona couldn't help but stop in and meet Miss Audrey Cristina Shepherd at separate times throughout the day.<p>

"Callie and I bought you this," Arizona said, holding up a little pink bear. "What little girl doesn't love a pink bear, huh?"

"Say 'thank you, Arizona!'" Derek smiled. "Hopefully soon Callie and Arizona have a playmate for you!"

"Well, not yet."

"Oh."

"How does the whole hospital know we're trying anyways?"

"You told Mark."

"Very true."

"He's just excited for you," Meredith said.

"I know," she nodded, taking the baby from Derek. "Your uncle Mark doesn't know how to keep something to himself! Nope!"

"That's okay," Derek said. "That's just Mark. He's basically a grown six-year-old."

"And that's coming from his best friend," Arizona told Audrey, with a little laugh.

"He's gotten better," Meredith said. "Since Lexie."

"True. He's still the world's biggest gossip, though," Derek said.

* * *

><p>At the end of her shift – which ended after Callie's – Arizona found her wife across the street at Joe's.<p>

"At least I can still drink," she said. "That's a plus, right?"

"I know that the timing sucked," Arizona replied, taking a seat beside her. "With Audrey coming today."

"Yeah," Callie replied. "But it'll happen."

"I know."

"She's cute," Callie said. "Did you see her?"

"Yep," she smiled. "She looks just like Derek."

"Even Cristina admitted she's cute," Callie replied.

Arizona laughed. "Seriously?"

"Clearly she's a little biased."

"Well, yeah."

"I just can't wait for our turn," she said.

"I know."

"It must be the best feeling in the world."

"Yeah."

"Hopefully it works next month."

"Hopefully," Arizona replied.

"I'm sure it will."


	4. Options

"You're so big now, huh?" Arizona asked Audrey as the little girl smiled at her.

Audrey was now six months old and her mom and dad were still having trouble juggling her needs and the pressures of their jobs. This day, like many others, Meredith was running late and she still had to drop Audrey off at the daycare.

"She's heavy too," Meredith smiled. "Huh, Baby Girl?"

"Do you want me to take her to the daycare for you?"

"Do you mind?"

"Nope."

"Thanks."

Meredith pressed a kiss into Audrey's dark curls and then handed her and her diaper bag over. There was a little fussing from the baby girl, but it wasn't much. "It's me!" Arizona smiled. "I'm nice! Yeah! And we're gonna go see your daycare buddies!"

"Have a good day, Audrey!" Meredith called after them.

"She will!" Arizona smiled.

On the way to the daycare, they ran into Callie. "Hey," Arizona smiled.

"Do you have a minute?"

"If you walk with me. I've gotta bring her to daycare for Grey."

"Oh."

Audrey's pacifier fell from her mouth as they walked. "Uh oh!" Arizona said. "Mommy and Daddy should get you a clip for that pacifier, huh?"

Callie picked it up and the baby reached for it. "This one's dirty," Callie explained. "We'll look in your bag and see if you have a clean one, 'kay?"

"What did you wanna talk about?" Arizona asked, as she reached into Audrey's bag and found a clean pacifier. "Here," she said as she put it in the little one's mouth.

"It shouldn't take six IUI cycles for a healthy, fertile woman to get pregnant," she said. "I know we keep saying it's just a fluke because nothing ever seemed wrong with my cycle or anything, but I'm really, really sick of this."

"I know," she said.

"I made an appointment with Sterling to talk about our options."

"As in…?"

"Well, IUI has a lower success rate than IVF."

"You're thinking about IVF?"

"I know it's so much more expensive and everything, but I mean, we've done six IUI cycles and got nothing."

"I know."

"So, we're obviously not doing enough," she said, as she fidgeted with Audrey's pacifier.

"Calliope, you get that this isn't your fault, right?" she asked her.

"Logically, yes," she nodded. "But it feels like it is."

"It's not," Arizona insisted. "Really. We'll figure this out and we will have a baby. Promise."

Callie forced a smile.

"When's the appointment with Sterling?"

"Next Friday."

"Great."

* * *

><p>Callie had never been so nervous in a doctor's office. Being a doctor, she obviously never minded going to the doctor's. Today though, she was just hoping that their appointment with Dr. Sterling would get them somewhere. Hopefully they'd get some answers or at least come up with a new plan that would have them welcoming a baby into the world relatively soon.<p>

"So, I'm assuming your here because you're concerned that you haven't conceived yet?" he asked when the appointment began.

"Yes," Callie nodded. "Exactly. It's not like I have actual fertility issues. We just can't conceive a baby without fertility treatments."

"Right," he said. "You're ovulating every cycle. Thanks to the Clomid, usually more than one egg."

"I know."

"I'm assuming you want options?"

"Options, tests, whatever you can give me," she said.

"Okay," he said, smiling his most reassuring smile. "We'll schedule you for another appointment so I can check for a blocked fallopian tube."

"What about blood work? Could there be something else going on that's preventing conception?" Arizona asked.

"We'll do some more extensive blood work as well," he nodded. "But her basic blood work that we did earlier seemed completely normal. So I'm not expecting anything there. I know you'd like answers, so I'll do more testing, but that doesn't seem like a likely cause."

"Then what does?" Callie asked.

Obviously the doctor didn't know or he would have just said it. However, Callie was really starting to get frustrated – and a little worried – now. Dr. Sterling was excellent and she wasn't even infertile. Why wasn't this working?

"We'll check for a blocked tube," he said. "And I could be wrong. The blood work could give us some clues."

"If not, what do we do?" Arizona asked.

"We have a few options," he reassured them. "For starters, we could increase the dosage of Clomid. If you ovulate more eggs, there's a higher chance of conception."

"And also a higher chance of multiples," Arizona pointed out. "We want this to work, but we don't want this to work too well."

"At this point, I just want it to work," Callie said. "Multiples or not."

"Me too," she agreed. "But many multiple pregnancies are so complicated."

"I know," she said. "It's not ideal."

"Exactly," Dr. Sterling said. "But it's a choice."

"What about IVF?" Callie wondered.

"IVF could be a very good option for you if it's a matter of the sperm just not fertilizing the egg. As long as we don't find any problems with your eggs, that could certainly be a great way to go. If we fertilize the embryos and then implant them, there's a higher likelihood of success."

"Yeah."

"But IVF is also much, much more involved than IUI is."

"We know," Arizona said.

That was one of the reasons they had decided to try IUI first. IVF carried with it more steps, more risks, and a higher price tag. Money wasn't the only concern, but there was a difference between paying a few hundred dollars per attempt or paying multiple thousands of dollars per attempt. It was something to think about for sure.

"So let's do the blood work and book you for another appointment so that we can look at your tubes," he said. "We'll start there and hopefully we have answers soon."

"Thank you," Callie said. "I'm sorry to be freaking out, but –"

"I'm a fertility specialist. Almost all of my patients are a little anxious. Especially after more than a few attempts. I understand completely."

"Good," she smiled.

"And I know what it's like."

"You do?"

"My wife and I were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Which basically isn't even a diagnosis. And the irony or helping couples conceive every day and not being able to get my wife pregnant was just…"

"So what did you do?"

"Everything under the sun," he nodded. "And…still nothing."

"Oh," Arizona replied.

"I'm probably one of the only fertility specialists who gave up and adopted, but after a while it seemed like the best choice."

"Your kids are adopted?" Callie asked.

"It's not exactly something I love to share with my patients," he admitted. "Not that I'm ashamedof them or anything. Just…patient's start doubting me. If they know that I couldn't even solve my own problem."

"It's not like it's your fault," Arizona said.

"I know, but some people don't exactly see it that way. And I just want them to have confidence in me as a doctor."

"No worries here," Callie said. "We do. For sure."

"Thanks," he smiled.

* * *

><p>"Can we afford IVF?" Callie asked Arizona as they lay in bed later that night. "If it comes down to that."<p>

"Of course," Arizona said. "It'll probably mean making some sacrifices, but yeah. I mean, we aren't paid as well as some people at work are, but it's not like we're struggling."

"Yeah."

"See, Shepherd can do clinical trials until the cows come home," she said. "And get published. All that good stuff. Which makes the hospital look better and ends with a bigger paycheque for him. In Peds, that's not how it goes. The FDA hardly ever approves anything. Even if they do, parents aren't exactly lining up to subject their children to God knows what. Nobody should be playing Russian Roulette with the lives of the tiny humans."

"No," Callie said.

"But yes," she answered. "If we have to do IVF, we will."

"Okay."

"But let's just wait and see what Sterling says once we get all your results."

"I hate to even think about this," Callie said. "Because I really, really wanna be pregnant, and you really, really don't. But if I can't, would you…?"

Arizona kissed her. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, 'kay?"

"I'm sick of waiting."

"Our baby is gonna be so, so, so worth it, Calliope."


	5. Next Step

"Everything looks good," Dr. Sterling said a week and a half later.

All of Callie's testing was coming back completely normal. Her blood work was all normal and her fallopian tubes didn't show any blockages or abnormalities.

"Is that good or bad?" Callie wondered aloud.

"Good," Arizona smiled, trying her best to keep a positive attitude.

At this point, Callie had almost been hoping that the doctor would find a problem. If they found something wrong, they could try to correct it. Not having an answer didn't really do her any good.

"I really wouldn't give up yet," the doctor replied. "We definitely have options."

"I know."

"But that doesn't really help you feel any better," he said.

"Exactly."

"So what's the next step?" Arizona asked.

She realized in that moment that she was so different from her former self. She had gone from being adamant that she absolutely never wanted kids, to feeling determined that they were going to have a baby somehow. She had to find a way.

Even though Callie's struggle to conceive had admittedly been much shorter so far than most women who needed fertility treatments, Arizona had seen her wife displaying the same emotions as any other woman who desperately wanted to get pregnant and wasn't conceiving would. She wanted to make Callie's dreams come true. Callie's dream was now hers, even if she wasn't exactly going through the same frustrations. Callie felt like her body was failing her, while Arizona felt horrible that she couldn't just find a solution that would work and get Callie pregnant. Of course, neither of these things were their fault, but they couldn't help but feel like they almost were.

"Well, for the immediate future, we could do one of two things," he answered. "We could take a little break. Just a few months, and then try again. Whether we try IUI or IVF would be up to you, but I'd recommend IVF given the fact that fertilization would already happen before implantation in that case."

Callie hadn't heard a word he said after "break."

"Break?" she asked. "Why? Why can't we just do the IVF now?"

"We could," he said. "But in my experience, it hasn't been the best idea. Your body needs a break. IVF isn't easy and your body's already full of the Clomid. With IVF, there's already a risk of Hyperovarian Simulation because of all of the hormones. The additional Clomid that's been in your system won't help. I'd rather get that out of your system and start fresh."

"Oh."

"Plus, it's kind of like the saying that a watched pot never boils," Arizona said, agreeing with him. "We need to focus on something else for awhile."

"Like what? Worrying about not worrying about why I'm not pregnant?" Callie asked.

She felt like if they stopped trying for awhile, all she would do was obsess over trying to not think about it. Dr. Sterling had a valid point and she knew it, but she just didn't like it.

"Three months," he said. "Four max. Which feels like years. I know. But I honestly feel like it's necessary."

"What's option number two?" she asked.

"This might not be any of my business to suggest," he said. "I know you want to get pregnant. But we could try IUI or IVF with Arizona."

"Oh," she simply replied, not quite sure what to say.

"We could use your eggs if you decide you'd still like it to be your biological child. That's certainly a possibility. Nothing seems wrong with your eggs or anything. But we might just have more success with Arizona. There's no medical reason for it, but sometimes that's just the way it works out."

"It's not about me needing a biological child," she explained. "I just want to be pregnant."

"I know," he said. "I'm not saying you have to go this route. I'm just saying that it is an option. If you wanna take it off the table, I understand. I won't bring it up again."

Callie looked to Arizona. "Would you? Should we think about it? Or should we just wait?"

"There's no harm in thinking about it," she said. "But do you feel like it's best?"

"I don't know."

"Think about it and let me know," Dr. Sterling told them. "I don't need a decision right now."

"Okay."

"I know it's a tough choice either way."

"Yeah."

"And I really hope you aren't offended by my suggesting –"

"No," Callie assured him. "You're just thinking of any way possible for us to have a baby."

* * *

><p>"Please don't feel like you have to do it," Callie told Arizona. "Raising a kid and having one live inside you are two different things. I know. Granted, pregnancy is temporary, but still. Don't feel like you have to get pregnant."<p>

"Can we stop talking about this?" Arizona asked as she and Callie lay in the on-call room together.

Both of them had long surgeries soon, so they had been trying to get some rest. Only, all Callie seemed to be able to do was talk about babies possibly being grown in Arizona's uterus.

"What?" Callie asked, sitting up a little. "Arizona –"

"Derek and I are cutting into the brain of a six-year-old little girl in an hour. I need to be rested. And relaxed. This is not a topic that relaxes me."

"Sorry," she replied.

Arizona kissed her. "I very much want a baby and we'll think about all the options, okay?"

"We? It's your choice. At least for the second one."

"You have to be okay with it."

"I know," she said. "That's the thing. I want to be pregnant. So, so bad. I'd do anything. And you just…don't want that. Which is fine, but –"

"Calliope…"

"Later, right," she nodded. "Sorry." She got up. "I'll go somewhere else. You sleep."

* * *

><p>"How'd it go this morning?" Mark asked when he found Callie in the hall a few minutes later.<p>

"I'm totally fertile," she said. "He doesn't see a medical reason I can't have a kid."

"Oh," he replied.

"We're thinking about either doing IVF in a few months or maybe about having Arizona carry the baby."

"Oh."

"Say more than 'oh.'"

"What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know," she said. "I have no idea what we should do."

"What does Robbins think?"

"I don't really know," she said. "Part of me says it would be a good thing. I wouldn't be pregnant and that wouldn't be ideal, but we'd get a baby. And really, that's the goal. But I also wonder if I'm ready to give up. Maybe I should try the IVF. You know? I'd rather regret doing something than not doing it. Plus, Arizona's not exactly thrilled about the idea of carrying the baby. She was the one who said she'd think about it, but I know that's just not what she wants."

"Yeah."

"What would you do?"

"If I was a lesbian trying to conceive a child?" he chuckled. "Are you honestly asking me to imagine that?"

"Whatever," she said.

"Torres, I think you know what the right choice is for you," he told her. "You just said it."

"True," she realized.

"Go talk to Arizona."

"I can't. She's trying to sleep so she doesn't kill a six-year-old today."

"Oh."

"I said don't say 'oh.'"

"That was an appropriate moment for that oh!"

"Thanks, Mark," she said.

"Anytime."

* * *

><p>Arizona didn't make it home that night because a patient came into the ER and needed emergency surgery. It felt like Callie grew more and more anxious by the hour. She just wanted to sit down and discuss their next steps toward becoming a family and she worried that the longer she waited, the more she would second guess her decision.<p>

"Hey," Arizona said, arriving home just as her wife was making breakfast that morning. "Sorry about last night."

"How's the kid?"

"Stable."

"Good."

"How was your night?" she asked, taking a piece of bacon that Callie had just finished making and eating it.

"Can we talk?"

"About the baby thing?"

"Yeah," she said. "As much as I hate having to wait, I think it's the best choice for us. You don't want to be pregnant and I do. More than anything. I think we need to try everything we can first."

"Okay," Arizona nodded.

"You agree?"

"I think that's a good idea."

"Good," she nodded. "How are we gonna wait three or four months, though?"

"We'll just keep busy," Arizona said. "Hopefully time flies."


	6. The Break

**A/N: Once again, thanks for the reviews. I love them.**

* * *

><p>Arizona marked off yet another date on their calendar. It was the sixty-third day she had marked off since their break from fertility treatments had begun. Exactly two months. They had reached the halfway point, but the other half still seemed like it would be so long.<p>

Most breaks are relaxing, but not this type of a break. No, this one had Arizona and her wife stressing and obsessing. They had so much riding on the IVF cycle they were going to start in a couple months – thousands of dollars and a whole lot of desperation – and they just wished they could start it now and get it over with.

"My dad called last night," Callie told her. "Asked how the whole fertility treatments thing was going. I told him Sterling said we have to take a break and he insisted we just switch specialists."

"We can't," Arizona replied. "As tempting as it is. Sterling's right."

"I know. But it's torture."

"Pretty much," she agreed.

"And it's not even fair. Straight couples who have to wait can at least have sex and hope that by some miracle, they just end up pregnant. The only choice we have is to wait."

"I don't think many infertile women actually magically conceive," Arizona laughed. "Some, yeah. But not most. It's not common. And really, that means they aren't infertile then."

"Still."

Arizona smiled. "You're losing it."

"Two more months is a long time, Arizona."

"It'll fly by."

"It will not. The first half didn't."

"We'll keep busy at work," she said. "Extra shifts like crazy."

"You work with kids. That won't work for you."

"At least it'll work for one of us," she said, giving Callie a kiss. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'm gonna get something at work. Bailey needs my help with a skills lab for the interns."

"Oh, okay," Arizona said.

"Sorry."

"No, it's okay."

"I'll see you later?"

"Yep."

* * *

><p>Callie and Bailey finished teaching the skills lab and Bailey had asked Callie if she would go report how it went to the chief. As much as Callie would rather find a surgery to scrub in on than discuss the successes and shortfalls – or more like just shortfalls - of this year's intern group, there was no point in saying no to Bailey, so Callie agreed.<p>

She knocked on the chief's office door and opened it just a little, expecting Richard to be waiting for the summary she was about to tell him.

"Oh, sorry," she said, quickly shutting the door. She opened it again when she realized who the woman talking to Richard was. "Addison?"

"Hi," she smiled.

"You're here?"

She chuckled. "I am," she said, standing up. "There's a mom at thirty-three weeks with sextuplets. She's seeing a local specialist, but even he's over his head. So he contacted me."

"Oh," she said. "Well, I can wait. Sorry. Just intern stuff."

"We were finished here anyways," Richard smiled. "Now we were just catching up. How'd the skills lab go?"

"We'll catch up later," Addison said as she left.

She nodded. "The interns are hopeless, Chief," she said. "They all did okay with the General surgery portion, but not a single one has a knack for Ortho."

"Are you sure you aren't just being too hard on them?"

"Most likely," she said. "But I hate skills labs. Hated them as an intern, hate teaching them now."

"What's going on with you, Torres?"

She sighed. "Sorry, Chief. I'm just stressing out over personal stuff."

"Try not to take it out on the interns."

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

* * *

><p>"These babies are gonna be so sick," Arizona said as she looked over ultrasound pictures that Addison had given her.<p>

She wasn't a neonatologist, but she could still be of assistance in any surgeries these six little ones needed. She was a pretty valuable member of the team Addison was creating, especially since Addison would only be in Seattle for about a week and the babies would be in the hospital for months.

"I know," Addison nodded. "But Mom and Dad opted to carry them all as far as they could."

"Of course," Callie replied. "They're all their babies."

"Are you jealous of a mom carrying six sick babies?" Arizona suspected.

"Maybe a little," Callie admitted. "I know it's far from ideal and I'm in no way saying I wanna have six. At least not at the same time."

"Or just not," Arizona said. "But yeah. Sextuplets is just…no."

"But I mean, she gets to be a mom. At thirty-three weeks, they actually stand an okay chance. Especially with the team they'll have. They might be special needs, but she gets to have them."

"I get it," Addison said. "I don't agree. I'd certainly still reduce if I were her, but…yeah."

"See? Addison gets it."

"Callie, let's not be jealous of the mom with a bunch of sick babies. Let's just hope for one healthy one. Twins max. Deal?"

"You guys are trying?" Addison asked.

"Not right now," Callie said. "We've done six cycles of IUI, though. And in November, we're gonna start IVF."

"You've tried six cycles and nothing?" Addison asked. "What's your diagnosis?"

"I don't have one."

"Oh."

"It'll happen for us," Arizona said.

"I don't know how you do it," Callie said. "Not being able to have a kid and delivering babies all day."

"It's not always easy," Addison answered. "That's for sure. But I love my job."

"Oh, of course," Callie replied. "It's just…the waiting has been hell."

"Why don't you guys get some time off and come out to LA? Recharge a little bit."

"Shouldn't we save our days off?" Arizona said, clearly seeing that Callie loved the idea. "In case the IVF does work and we need days off –"

"Arizona, right now there is no baby," Callie replied. "We can't live trying to prepare for something that's not happening yet. Let's just take a week."

"Okay," she agreed. "But once these babies are a little more stable. Addison and I can't both leave them. I mean, they'll have a neonatologist take over, but still."

"I know. Okay."

* * *

><p><strong>The next update will probably be up on Thursday or Friday.<strong>


	7. Trying Again

The trip to Los Angeles had been great. Spending the time with Addison was nice and having the distraction for even just a little while was such a welcome thing.

Back in Seattle, they constantly had coworkers – and even some patients and family members of patients who came in frequently – inquiring about whether or not they had been able to get pregnant yet. When the answer was no, some of them even offered opinions about what the next step should be. Callie and Arizona knew that people just cared and they didn't realize that their advice wasn't helpful, but it was still annoying. It was nice not to hear any of that for a little while.

Once they returned from their trip, both women threw themselves into their work and hoped that that would make November come faster. Luckily, it seemed to work.

"I'm really getting sick of this," Callie complained one day as she injected herself with the hormones that were necessary in order for her to produce as many eggs as she could per cycle.

"I know," Arizona nodded.

This time, Callie was having to deal with more side-effects as a result of the hormones. In addition to her mood swings, she was now gaining weight and experiencing headaches. She knew it wasn't abnormal, but it didn't make her any less frustrated about it all.

"Sterling better be able to get a lot of eggs."

"He doesn't see a reason why not," Arizona said.

"I know, but I'm worried that some of them aren't gonna be the best quality."

"Yeah."

"And if we have to do another month of these injections –"

"You'll forget all about all of this when we have a baby," Arizona smiled.

"At this point, I don't know that we can say 'when.' It's more like 'if.'"

"IVF has a much higher success rate. I'm saying when."

"Okay."

"It's gonna work."

"It would be less frustrating if I just understood why the IUI didn't work. If we had a reason."

"Yep."

* * *

><p>Callie's fears that Dr. Sterling would tell them that her eggs weren't good quality were thankfully not realized.<p>

"We got five eggs and fertilized them all," he said on the day they were retrieved. "One of the embryos died off, but the other four look great."

"Good," Arizona smiled. "See? It was worth it."

"So we don't have to do any more retrievals?" Callie asked.

"Nope," Dr. Sterling answered.

"Thank God."

"So when can we transfer them?" Arizona wondered. "And how many do we transfer?"

"I want to give them a day or two to make sure that the others really are as good of quality as they seem. And as for how many, I don't like doing more than three at a time. But it's your choice whether you want to do just two, or three, or even just one."

"We can freeze the ones we don't use, right?" Callie asked.

"Of course," he said. "So talk about it and let me know. Then we'll make an appointment for the transfer."

"Okay," Callie nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Addison said that there's really no way to really predict how many will implant," Callie told Arizona after hanging the phone up that afternoon. "We could do three and none of them could take. Or all of them could."<p>

She had called to see if Addison could give them any advice about how many embryos were best to transfer. Obviously it was a personal choice that they had to make, but she figured it couldn't hurt just to ask for an opinion from her friend.

"That's what I figured," she nodded.

"There's not a lot of point in transferring just one. I feel like we should do at least two. Double the chances. Not that it's a guarantee, but still."

"Yeah," Arizona said. "But three's just too risky. Triplet pregnancies can get really scary."

"I know."

"So two?" she asked.

"I think so."

Arizona kissed her. "You really okay with that?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm less worried about multiples than you are, but I'm still worried. I'm not naïve. I know that multiple pregnancies might not turn out well. I mean, transferring three doesn't mean we'll have triplets, but that's not a chance we should take. We can keep the rest frozen and try again if we need to."

"Yeah."

"Do you realize we could have conceived a baby today?" she asked.

"Yep!" Arizona smiled. "Well, we did. Technically. We just don't know if the embryos will implant."

"Yeah."

"Pretty awesome, huh?"

"Really, really awesome."

* * *

><p>Two days later, they transferred two of the four remaining embryos. They would have to wait two weeks to find out if the procedure had been a success, but they were cautiously optimistic. IVF had a higher success rate than IUI did, and Dr. Sterling was very pleased with the quality of the embryos. Hopefully that all meant the odds were in their favour.<p>

"Two weeks isn't that long," Arizona said allowed, trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince her wife.

"Yeah. We can just keep busy. We waited four months. We can wait longer."

"And a baby would be the perfect Christmas gift," Arizona smiled, realizing that by the time they found out if the procedure worked it would be December.

"True," she agreed. "Yeah."

"It would be perfect, huh?"

"Perfect would have been having the first IUI cycle work."

"Yeah, but -"

"But I'll be fine with that if this works."

"Yes," she agreed with a smile.

"God, I hope this works."


	8. Christmas

"I'll do it," Arizona told Callie a month later. "If you want me to, I will."

It was December twenty-second and the two women were getting ready for Arizona's parents, who were coming to spend Christmas with them this year.

"What?" Callie asked. She hadn't been expecting her wife to blurt that out in the middle of decorating the apartment. Clearly, they had both been thinking about it, but still.

Callie hadn't gotten pregnant during their first IVF cycle and, at this point, she was so discouraged that she wasn't sure she could go through all that again. Sure, they already had the embryos frozen, so it would be less physically taxing if she did it again, but she couldn't handle it emotionally. Her body had let her down and she was sick of begging it to do something it clearly wasn't going to.

"I'll carry our baby," Arizona said. "It's such a short period of time for such a great thing. And maybe the IVF'll work for me."

"No," Callie told her.

"No?" she asked. "You're not giving up are you? Calliope, this is your dream. Our dream now. Which is crazy, but it is."

"I know. But do you honestly think you could go through that again?" Callie asked. "Get your hopes up and not even get pregnant? Plus, honestly, I can't see you being a happy pregnant person. I love that you would be willing to do it so that we could start our family, but hearing you complain about being pregnant when you're huge and swollen and waddling will not sit well with me. Because I'd give anything to be huge and swollen and waddling."

"So we're just not gonna have a baby?" Arizona questioned. "Callie, we can't just not have a baby."

"Who are you and what have you done to Arizona?" she asked.

"I decided I want a family with you," she replied. "Especially after it's been so hard. It's kinda like you can't really appreciate something until you can't have it anymore. Trying as hard as we have has made me want babies with you even more than I did the day I decided I did."

"I love you," Callie said. "But I can't do that again. And I love that you'd do it, but no."

"Because you'd be jealous?"

"It'd be hard not to be, honestly," Callie said. "Which just makes me a bad wife. But just –"

"Callie, you've been taking hormones and giving yourself shots until you're all bruised just trying to make us a baby. You're not a bad wife. Maybe I don't totally understand your feelings because I haven't wanted a kid ever since I can remember. But that does make sense."

"I don't know. Maybe in a couple years I'll come to terms with it and be okay with you carrying the baby. But it's just something I want so bad."

"I know," she said, pulling Callie into a hug. "So we'll just put this whole baby thing on hold. We can be happy just the two of us, right?"

A year ago, Arizona truly believed this statement. Now it just seemed like a great big lie.

"Right," Callie said, not feeling truthful either.

* * *

><p>"I just feel so bad for her," Arizona told her mom during a late-night chat the first night they were in Seattle.<p>

When Arizona and her brother were growing up, every time they had a problem, they could be assured that their mom would listen and say something comforting. Their father wasn't a bad listener or anything, but there was just something so special about cuddling up on the couch with a glass of milk and some cookies – or now a glass of wine – and talking it all out with Mom.

"I feel like I should be able to fix it."

"You'll get through this, Arizona," Barbara reassured her daughter.

"Calliope believes in fate," she said. "Well, she believes that God has all these plans. Which I didn't believe in because well really, really cruel things happen to good people. But what if she's right? What if I really wasn't ever supposed to have a kid? And now that I want it and I'm married to someone who's always wanted it, what I'm just trying to change something that's set in stone?"

"I don't think that's true at all," she said. "I don't think it's anybody's fault that you haven't had a baby yet."

"Logically, I know that. But it's so hard not to look for reasons."

"I know."

"You do?"

"It took your father and I almost three years to have you," she shared.

"And then you just stopped trying and it happened, right?" she asked. "We've only heard that one about a thousand times. If only that were a choice for us."

"My point was just that I do understand how frustrating it is," Barbara said. "And I get that you need to give up for now. That doesn't mean it has to be forever."

"We know."

"And it'll be more than worth all of it if you do decide to try again," she said. "Trust me."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Why?"

"You fly out here for Christmas and we're all pathetic."

"That's okay," she said. "I understand. We'll make the best of it anyways."

"Yeah," she nodded.

* * *

><p>"You're here too?" Arizona asked her wife when she saw her at work on Christmas Eve.<p>

She had come in to treat a little boy who had taken a pretty nasty spill on a tobogganing hill, but she didn't realize her wife was at work now as well.

"People do dumb things and break bones," Callie said. "Merry Christmas to me. You should see the fibia I get to set over –"

"Calliope, we were supposed to be having dinner with my parents."

"They told me to go."

"Of course they did," she said. "That doesn't mean you do it. They're eating Christmas Eve dinner alone?"

"Not exactly."

"Who are they eating Christmas Eve dinner with?"

"Mark and Sloan."

"We have to get home as soon as possible."

"Clearly."

With that, Arizona walked back into the little boy's room, just to check on him one more time.

"Guess what, Jude?" the six-year-old's mom was asking him.

"What?"

"Guess who's at the house waiting for you to come home and open presents?"

"Santa?" he asked.

She laughed. "Not exactly. But Nadia is."

"Cool," he smiled.

"Who's Nadia?" Arizona asked, as she began looking over his chart to see if there were any notes from the nurses.

"My birth mom," he explained. "I grew in her tummy, then I got adopted."

"Well, Buddy," Arizona smiled. "You get to go home and visit with her. Everything looks good here."

"Okay."

"Just watch him for any signs of a concussion," Arizona told his mom. "But he seems good."

"I'm sorry you got called in," she said. "I probably shouldn't have even let him go tobogganing without me there. I mean, his friend's older sister was and I trust her, but still."

"It would've happened if you were there too," Arizona told her. "He's a little kid on Christmas break. It's not like he had no supervision. Like you said, you trust the sister. Don't beat yourself up about it. And I'm a doctor. We all get called in around Christmas. No need to be sorry."

"Okay," she smiled. "Do you have kids?"

"Nope," she said. "But I am about to head home and have dinner with my parents. And hopefully my wife."

"Have a good Christmas."

"You too," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please don't hate me for the IVF not working. I promise you that I'm not evil. Really. I know what I'm doing, and I love Calzona. **


	9. New Decision

"Look what the kids just made me," Arizona smiled, holding up a giant heart-shaped construction paper mess that was supposed to be a Valentine's day card. It was made by a few of her youngest patients, so it wasn't the prettiest of cards, but it was adorable just because she could tell they had fun making it.

"Cute."

"What do you wanna do for Valentine's day?" she asked.

"Wanna just stay in bed all night with a bottle of wine and some chocolates?"

"I love the way you think," she smiled, giving her a kiss.

"Okay," Callie smiled. "It's a date then."

"It is," she agreed.

Arizona noticed Callie's eyes wander to the card. A sad look came over her wife and it broke her heart as well. She knew exactly what Callie was wondering: would they ever have a child who would make them ridiculous, yet absolutely precious cards like that?

"I have a question for you," Arizona told her.

"You do?"

"You can completely say no. I just…I've been thinking about it since Christmas Eve."

"What?"

"I can't stop thinking about it, actually."

"About what, Arizona?" she asked. "Spit it out."

"What about adoption?"

"You wanna adopt?" she asked. "A baby?"

"No, a goldfish," she joked. "Yes, a baby."

"Oh."

"If you don't want to, that's okay. It's just that I have patients who are adopted and they're so, so loved. Not that biological kids aren't. That's not my point. But we have so much love to give and why do we need a biological kid? I mean, really, even if we had one, it would only be biologically related to one of us."

"True," she said. "That still doesn't solve the me wanting to be pregnant thing, though."

"I know."

"I'm sorry. It's just hard to let that go."

"I know," she said. "But think about it?"

"I don't know why I haven't already."

"Because we were so focused on a pregnancy that no other options seemed possible."

"Yeah," she said. "You'd be okay with adopting?"

"I would," she nodded. "But if you aren't, we shouldn't. And it's okay not to want that."

"I know."

"Think about it."

"I will."

* * *

><p>"Arizona asked how I feel about adoption," Callie told Mark.<p>

"And how do you feel about adoption?" he replied as they rode the elevator together on the way to the room of a patient they were both working with.

"I have no idea."

"Oh."

"I just remember how hard it was for you when Sloan gave up the baby," Callie said. "And I don't know that I can do that to someone else."

"It hurt," Mark nodded. "Because I would've given that little boy everything. Sloan wouldn't have had to do it alone."

"Yeah."

"But at the same time, now he has a whole family. It hurts that it's not us, but he has a mom, a dad, probably aunts and uncles…"

"Uh huh."

"He'll have a good life."

"Yeah."

"And when the parents came to get him, they already loved him. As much as it hurt me, it was cool to see what it meant to them."

"Oh."

"And Sloan made what she felt was the best choice. Now I get that."

"You didn't before?"

"I did, but now I can rationally see it."

"Oh. Good."

"So, if you wanna adopt, adopt. The birth family will be okay with it over time."

"It's still gonna be hard," she said. "Even just excepting that I'm not carrying the baby."

"It's just about deciding what's more important to you," he said. "A pregnancy or being a mom. Not that I'm trying to say that getting pregnant wouldn't mean the world to you, because I know it would, but being a mom no matter how it happens would be pretty great, too. Because you and Robbins would be great moms."

"Has anyone ever told you you'd make a good shrink?"

"Nah," he laughed. "I definitely wouldn't."

"You make a really awesome best friend, though."

"So am I gonna be Uncle Mark?" he asked.

"Probably," she nodded. "I don't wanna make this decision just like that because it's something Arizona and I really have to talk more about, but you're right. I'd give anything to be pregnant. And in the future, who knows. But I can't put us through anymore treatments - at least not right now, maybe later - but we want a baby. So maybe adoption is for us. And it's different than Arizona getting pregnant because I think I'd be a lot less jealous of someone I didn't see all the time."

"Keep thinking about it."

"I know."

* * *

><p>Two weeks of back and forth discussion followed. They started researching adoption both from legal and practical points of view because they wanted to be as aware as possible of what they would go through. They read the adoption stories of other couples and felt like they learned a lot from the true stories. It opened their eyes to the fact that adoption wasn't always easy, but it was worth it in the end. They just had to be prepared to experience the emotional roller coaster that came along with their adoption experience. Even though they had read about some worst case-scenario situations that scared them, they were still encouraged enough by the positive stories to decide to pursue an adoption.<p>

"We're doing this," Arizona said after making the appointment with a highly-recommended adoption agency.

Callie smiled. "We are."

"We're really going to have a baby."

"Well, not tomorrow," Callie laughed. "It's gonna take awhile."

This was one of the downsides to adoption. Not only was Callie working on accepting that she wouldn't be carrying their child – which, while she was looking forward to adopting, was still a source of sadness – but they also had to accept that adoptions usually took much longer than pregnancies did. Even though they were exciting and hopeful, they had to remember to also remain as patient as possible because they had no control over when they would be chosen to be parents.

"I know, but still."

Callie kissed her. "We're gonna get the best baby ever."

"Uh huh."


	10. Paperwork

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys :) I have to admit, I was a little worried about how people would react to Calzona's decision. I'm happy that it's been well recieved. **

**To the person who asked if Callie will sleep with Mark in this fic, I will promise you the answer is no. I love, love, love Sofia, but this is not going to lead to that. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love Callie and Mark's relationship, but I'm keeping it strickly a friendship here. Calzona are married and enjoying married life (with the exception of the stress infertility has caused, but that's not tearing them apart). Don't worry. Callie will only be sleeping with Arizona. Arizona will only be sleeping with Callie. :)**

**I'm hoping to have the next update up sometime between tomorrow (Thursday) and Monday. My guess is that it will probably be tomorrow or Friday, but I'm not completely sure. **

* * *

><p>A week later, Callie and Arizona met with a woman named Sasha, who would be their adoption case worker at the agency. After learning that she was an adoptive mom herself, they definitely felt comfortable with her and like they could ask her anything they needed to know.<p>

Sasha talked them step-by-step through the process, assuring them that it would seem overwhelming right now, but if they took it one step at a time, it was all very doable.

First, they had to start with the application. Background checks, physicals, adoptive parenting classes, and interviews with a social worker would come next. Each of these was designed to ensure that Callie and Arizona would be able to provide a child with an acceptable standard of family life, and that they were as emotionally prepared as possible for the different challenges that came along with adoption. Once they were approved to adopt, they would create a profile for potential birth parents to look at and, hopefully, one of those birth parents would choose them. Now they knew for sure that this would take awhile.

"It's worth it," Arizona said to herself as starting filling out the paperwork while on-call that night.

It was the most paperwork they had ever had to fill out in their lives and it covered everything they could possibly think of from the medical histories of them and their family members – they assumed to ensure that the child would always have someone around should something happen to them – to whether or not they preferred a boy or a girl. Obviously, the amount of forms was necessary, but it seemed overwhelming.

"So, that's all?" Callie asked. "I didn't forget anything. Okay, thanks, Daddy."

She had called her father just to double-check that she hadn't forgotten to list any medical conditions that existed in the Torres family.

"Yes, we're sure we don't want to try IVF one more time," Callie told him. "No, it's not about money. We're just really sick of going through all that. Adoption's gonna be different, but just as great. Really. No, I mean it, Dad. Okay. I love you, too. Bye."

She hung up. "Are we good with your family?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "My dad wants to pay for another round of IVF. He thinks we're just too proud to ask."

"He's more than welcome to pay for all of this," Arizona joked, referring to everything they would be charged for in order to complete the adoption. "Or to keep the embryos frozen."

Even though they were planning on adopting their first child, they had decided not to give up on a pregnancy in the future. They both honestly felt good about adoption - especially after hearing Sasha talk about adopting her son – but they also felt it was best to keep their options open in the event that they wanted to consider pregnancy as the way to bring their next child into their lives.

Callie laughed.

"Okay, here are some we have to discuss," Arizona said when she got to the questions about the child they would be willing to adopt.

"What?"

"It asks about if we're interested in a certain age, gender, or heritage or race. Or if we'd adopt a special needs baby. Stuff like that."

"I want to be our baby's parents from day one," Callie said. "I know not everything will be finalized yet, but still. Not that anything's wrong with adopting older kids, but I just don't know that it's for us."

"Agreed," Arizona said. "Which just makes me feel bad for older children, but –"

"Sasha said not to feel bad. Some couples only look for older children. We have to be honest about what's best for us if we want this to be a successful match."

"I know."

They decided that the gender, heritage or race of the child didn't matter at all. They debated for awhile about whether or not they would be open to adopting a special needs child. Arizona was concerned about being able to devote the extra time that it would take to bring a special needs child to appointments and meet all their unique needs, while Callie was more focused on the fact that not all special needs were severe. She was sure that they could handle any child's needs – disabled or otherwise. Arizona saw her point, but as a Pediatric surgeon, she also knew that she wasn't about to ask for the heartache and challenges those parents faced. Of course, if they did end up with a sick or disabled child, she wouldn't regret the adoption for a second, but she also didn't want to seek out that challenge. Ultimately, they chose to answer against adopting a special needs child because it wasn't something they saw eye-to-eye on, and therefore, it probably wasn't a great idea.

"What's all that?" Mark asked as he sat down next to the ladies for a quick rest in between surgeries.

"Baby stuff," Callie said. "Straight couples have it so good. They get hot sex. We get fertility treatments or paperwork."

"That's not just because we're lesbians," Arizona pointed out. "Plus, we get the hot sex, too. It just doesn't make babies."

"Do they want to know every detail about your lives since birth?" Mark asked, looking at how much there was to fill out.

"Basically."

"Wow."

"If I was giving my kid up, I'd want to know that the parents went through all this," Arizona said. "It's a good thing."

"Yep," Callie said.

"You two are really gonna have a baby, huh?" Mark asked.

Callie laughed. "We've only been trying for over a year, Mark."

"I know. But it's just so crazy. We're all old now. And parental. I have Sloan, Derek and Meredith just celebrated Audrey's first birthday in January, and now you two are adopting."

"We're not old," Callie said. "We're just mature now."

"He's mature?" Arizona asked.

"A lot more than he used to be," Callie said. "It's good."

"Where in these forms do you mention me?" Mark asked.

"Nowhere," Arizona teased. "We want them to want to give us a kid, remember?"

"Very funny."

"No, really. Can you write us a reference letter?" Callie asked.

"Sure."

* * *

><p>They slowly worked through the remainder of the application over the next couple of weeks. They realized that it was the first step of many, but it was still exciting to know that they were moving in the right direction.<p>

"We could have one of those one day," Arizona said when she caught Callie looking at the babies through the nursery window one night.

"We will have one of those one day," Callie replied. "We just have to try hard to be patient."

"It's like counting down the days until Christmas," Arizona said. "Except Christmas is lots and lots and lots of days away."

"It's gonna be so much better than Christmas, though," she smiled.


	11. Test Run

"Listen to her," Arizona smiled.

They could hear now eighteen-month-old Audrey laughing across the hall in Uncle Mark's apartment. It was a warm, and even sunny, Seattle day in July. Meredith and Derek were at work, but Mark had taken the busy toddler to the park earlier. She was still all full of energy.

"Focus, Arizona," Callie said, even though she loved hearing the happy sounds too.

She opened the bag of various items they had just purchased. Each one was to be used to somehow baby-proof their apartment. They had just completed the adoption classes that they were required to take, and now they had to get ready for the in-home interview sessions that were part of the homestudy. Even though they didn't have a baby yet, their house had to be baby-proofed by the time they began.

"I am," she said. "I know. The faster we do this, the sooner we can finish all of this and have a profile out there."

"Exactly."

Over the next two hours, Callie and Arizona put away items that were not child-safe, installed various types of safety locks, and tried their best to be sure that every inch of the apartment was fit for a child.

They were just finishing up when there was a tiny knock on the door. Callie smiled and went to open it, knowing that Mark had told Audrey to knock.

"Yes, Miss Audrey?" she asked.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi!"

"Mommy and Daddy are at the hospital and I just got paged. Auntie Lexie's gonna be here in like an hour and she'll take her. Just until then, can you…?" Mark wondered.

"Sure," she said. "C'mon in, Audrey."

Mark handed Callie the diaper bag. "Pacies, books, toys, diapers…it's all in there."

"Any special instructions?"

"Well, nap should've been about forty-five minutes ago," Mark said. "But clearly, that's not happening."

They watched as Little Audrey ran over to Arizona. She wasn't the least bit tired today.

"That's okay!" Arizona laughed. "It's a fun day with Uncle Mark, right?"

She nodded.

"You can be our tester!" Arizona told her. "Is all this safe in our apartment?"

"What?" Mark asked.

"We're baby-proofing," Callie explained.

"You realize you don't have the kid yet, right?" he asked. "I know you've been waiting, but…"

"We have to do it in advance," she explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Mark's pager went off again. "I'm coming!" he said, as if whoever was paging could hear.

"Say 'buh bye, Uncle Mark!'" Arizona told Audrey, waving so that she would mimic her.

Audrey started crying. She was pretty used to being babysat by Uncle Mark, but not by Callie and Arizona. She knew them, but she wasn't close to them. Realizing that Mark was leaving was certainly not something she was comfortable with.

"Auntie Lexie'll be here soon," he promised. "And then Mommy and Daddy'll get home after that." He bent over and kissed her little lips. "I'm sorry, but I gotta go. They're fun, though. Yep!"

Mark left and the eighteen-month-old went over to the now closed door and started banging on it with her open fist. "Ba'!" she said, trying to say "Back!"

"Uncle Mark has to work," Callie said, picking her up and wiping away a few tiny tears. "But let's have fun."

"No."

"You don't wanna have fun?" Arizona asked. "Really?"

"Do you wanna read books? Uncle Mark said you have a few in your bag," Callie told her.

"No."

"Do you wanna go outside again? We can go for a walk."

"No."

"Do you wanna….?"

"You have to suggest something," Arizona said after her wife's pause.

"I'm working on it," Callie said. "Do you wanna put on some music and dance?"

"No."

"You don't wanna dance?"

"No."

"Do you wanna do anything?"

"No."

"Let's just get her toys out and she'll start playing," Arizona said. "Suggesting things to a toddler isn't always the best plan."

That worked for about five minutes. After that, Audrey was back to the door, wanting to see if anybody would come to get her.

"Do you want…cookies?" Callie asked. "We have cookies."

Arizona laughed. "We can't even watch a kid for a few minutes without resorting to food," she said. "Apparently we have a lot to work on."

"Hey, our place doesn't have a whole bunch of toddler stuff. If she had more toys and things to do, she'd be happier."

"I know."

"Let's get Audrey a cookie," Callie said.

"Yeah," Audrey nodded.

"Can you say 'please?'" Arizona asked.

"No."

"No, huh?" she smiled.

Callie got Audrey a cookie and the little girl took off with it. She was smushing it in her little hands, and therefore making a mess of their otherwise clean apartment.

"We're not getting you to sit somewhere with that, are we?" Callie asked.

"I'm gonna go with no," Arizona said. "Oh well!"

"How are we doing so far, Audrey?" Callie asked. "Are we gonna make good moms?"

Audrey held out her handful of smushed cookie. "Eat it," Arizona said. "Put it in your mouth."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Baby!" Lexie smiled when she came to pick Audrey up. "Did you have fun?"<p>

"She got cookie all over the outfit she was wearing," Arizona said, handing over the diaper bag. "So we had to change her. We would've washed it, but there wasn't enough time. It's in there."

"Okay."

Audrey came over and Lexie picked her up. "Say 'bye' to Callie and Arizona," she told her.

"'Air," she said, touching the top of Lexie's head.

"What?"

"Hair," Callie explained. "We taught her what her mouth is called and she wanted to know what everything else was called."

"That is my hair," Lexie told the little one. "Yep. What did you do today? Uncle Mark said he was taking you to the park, huh?"

"'Air!" she repeated, this time with much more excitement in her voice.

"Eighteen-months-old and all you wanna talk about is hair," Lexie smiled. "You're your daddy's girl, aren't you?"

"Dada?" she asked.

"You'll see him soon."

"Oh."

"Bye, Audrey," Callie smiled.

"Have fun with Auntie Lexie, okay?" Arizona added.

"Wave," Lexie told her niece. "Wave buh-bye. Say 'thanks for watchin' me!'"

Audrey waved and she and Lexie left. "That was fun," Callie said. "There might be cookie on the couch, and the floor, and…everything else, but she left happy. Success."

Arizona kissed her. "It was fun," Arizona said. "One day, that'll be our full-time job."

"I know!"


	12. Approved

**A/N: I know this chapter is a little shorter, but it's important. The next few chapters after it are longer. Hope you like it :) **

* * *

><p>By August, the ladies had successfully completed almost everything the agency required of them. Now the next step in the process was to meet with a social worker a few times over the course of a few weeks so that they could be interviewed and their apartment could be seen.<p>

Although it felt intimidating, Callie and Arizona quickly realized that the interview process was not about being tested to see if they would be the perfect parents. It was more about making sure they were prepared to welcome a baby into their lives. It was certainly stressful, but it was for their benefit and definitely for the benefit of the baby they were hoping to adopt.

Unfortunately their social worker ended up going on vacation, which delayed the interview process by a few weeks. They didn't officially finish it until the beginning of October.

"Did he ask you about when you knew you wanted kids?" Arizona asked her wife.

"Yeah."

Some of the questions had been asked of them as a couple and some in private individually. This wasn't meant to necessarily make sure they had all the same answers, but instead just to make sure that they were at least thinking along the same lines and wanting the same things out of life.

"I was waiting for that one," Arizona replied. "I knew it was coming. But how do you say 'I didn't want kids until I thought I was gonna die or lose the woman I loved?'"

"As long as he saw that you want kids now, that's fine," Callie said. "He's looking for honest answers and that's the truth. You want them now, but you didn't always."

"I know."

"I don't think someone who didn't have the right intentions would actually go through everything we've gone through in order to adopt."

"No. They'd have to be crazy."

"Exactly."

"Do you realize that as soon as we get the okay that the interview process went okay, we can start putting together a profile?" she smiled.

"Yeah."

"And actual potential birth parents will look at that profile," she said.

"I know."

"It could still take forever. I know. But still. That's so nice to know that we're actually getting our profile into the hands of someone soon."

"Yep."

* * *

><p>A week later, they were approved and they started putting together their profile book. It was to be a small scrapbook about them. Making it wasn't hard, but keeping it short, yet still including enough information and photos, was the tough part. If it was too long, potential birth parents weren't likely to have much time to look at it because they were looking at so many. However, if it was too short and vague, it might also be passed over because someone looking at it just might not be interested enough.<p>

"Will you read this?" Callie asked, as she handed a piece of paper over to Mark and Arizona gave another copy to Bailey.

"What is this?" Bailey asked. "I am working, you know."

"It's our Dear Birth Parent letter," she said.

"Just read it."

"Excuse me?"

"Please, Bailey?" Callie asked. "If it's crap, we might not get a baby."

"If it's a Dear Birth Parent letter, why does it say 'Dear Friend?'" Mark asked.

"Basically because the term 'birth parent' is for after the parental rights are terminated. Until then, they're technically just parents considering adoption for their baby. Some people think of it as disrespectful to use it already," Arizona explained.

"Oh."

"We didn't want it to seem like we were too desperate," Callie said.

"Or judgmental," Arizona added. "Is it judgmental?"

"Let them read it."

"It goes in the profile book," Arizona kept explaining. "Oh, and it's supposed to be short. Not overwhelming."

"We're reading," Mark said.

"If you want us to read it, stop talking," Bailey added.

"Right," Arizona said. "Sorry."

"It's good," Mark smiled, handing his copy back to Callie.

"Just good?" Callie asked. "Or so good you'd give us a baby?"

"I don't know if any letter is gonna seal that deal," Bailey said. "It's gonna take more than that to make a decision."

"Obviously."

"But it's a very well done letter," she said, giving her copy back and walking off when her pager beeped.

"Bailey says it's well done," Callie smiled. "We're good."

"People'd be crazy not to give you to a baby," Mark said.

"Thanks," Arizona smiled.

"So what's next?" Mark asked. "Somebody picks you?"

"We're getting pass along cards made," Callie said. "To give to people we know so they can put them places they go and spread the word that we're adopting."

"Just go up to OB," Mark said.

"We can't do that," Callie replied. "Can we?"

"That would be wrong," Arizona told her. "We're doctors. We can't be trolling for babies."

"But what if our baby is supposed to be some baby up there?"

* * *

><p>"I talked to the chief," Arizona said three weeks later, as she fiddled with a couple of their pass along cards.<p>

Their profile was with the agency, and their cards had just been made. Now they had to hope that something about them would stand out and help them connect with their baby's biological family.

"And?"

"He said we're allowed to post a card or two on the bulletin boards," Arizona said. "But that's it. We can't be bothering any pregnant girls."

"I know, I know."

"But maybe someone'll see it and choose us."

"I hope," she said. "Do you think we're at a disadvantage?"

"Why?"

"Because we're both women," she said. "Don't you think most people would want to choose a mother and a father?"

"Gay couples adopt, too. We just have to wait for birth parents who can look beyond that and see that we'd be good parents. We just would be two mommies."

"Yeah."

"And if someone looked at our profile, they'd get to know us. They'd see that we can provide a great life for a child."

"Yep."


	13. Reality

**It has been brought to my attention that somehow two of the chapters in this fic ended up being the same post. I have NO idea how that happened, but I apoligize for any issue. I have put the correct chapter five back up for anyone who wants to read it. **

* * *

><p>"Hopefully by next year, we'll have a grandbaby to celebrate a first Christmas with," Barbara Robbins said as she helped Callie and Arizona put together dinner. It was a few days before Christmas, but she and Daniel had already flown in to celebrate.<p>

"Our profile's been available for two months, Mom," Arizona said. "Waiting to find a match can take years. Don't get your hopes up."

She and Callie's excitement over having their profile all set had been short lived. Of course, they were happy that potential birth parents could now look at it, but they had both been secretly hoping that they wouldn't have to wait very long at all to be contacted by someone. As the weeks began ticking by, reality had a way of reminding them that they had no control whatsoever over this part. They were struggling with how to just go about their day-to-day lives and keep waiting. Waiting was getting hard and they probably had a lot more of it left to do.

"How can I not?" she asked.

Arizona smiled. "I'm glad you're excited. Trust me, you'll know when we get chosen."

"We better," her dad said.

"Everyone will," Callie replied.

"Everyone?" Arizona asked. "Calliope, just because we're chosen, doesn't mean it's gonna work out. Things happen. People change their minds."

"And keeping it a secret is supposed to make that easier? It's not like we'll be able to pretend it didn't happen."

"True."

"That's not gonna happen," Barbara said. "I mean, it could, but no."

"It definitely could, Mom," Arizona replied. "For sure."

"But let's just hope it doesn't," Callie said.

"Obviously."

"You'll get picked soon," Daniel told his daughter and daughter-in-law. "You deserve it."

"And every other adoptive couple doesn't, Dad?" Arizona asked.

"But you're our little girl," Barbara smiled.

They heard beeping coming from the bedroom. "Yours or mine?" Callie asked as Arizona went to check which pager was going off.

"Both!" she called out.

"We're not even supposed to be on-call today."

"Outdoor hockey game," she read from her pager. "Ice gave way and long story short, a bunch of teenagers ended up falling through."

"Oh God."

"Go, go, go," Barbara told them. "Dinner can wait."

"Eat without us. We'll be awhile," Callie said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>"You should see the gash this one kid has in his arm. His friend panicked when they were in the water and accidently kicked him. With a skate on," Mark described.<p>

"I've seen it," Callie said. "Well, after you stitched it up. I just sent him to get x-rays on his leg. It's broken, I just have to find out in how many places."

"Oh."

"Lexie didn't get paged?" Callie asked, realizing that she was one of the only residents not there. The hospital was already busy with the usual holiday-time mishaps and illnesses, and now that this accident had happened, it was all hands on deck. All hands except Lexie's, apparently.

"I had to get her out of it."

"What?" she asked. "We're surgeons. We all have to work around the holidays, Mark."

"No, it's…"

"What?"

"I guess I should just tell you," he said. "You'll find out soon. Actually, I was kind of hoping I could tell you and Arizona before the whole hospital found out anyways."

"What's going on, Mark?"

"We found out Lexie's pregnant last week," he revealed. "Her morning sickness is really bad today. She'd basically be useless here because she's so sick."

"Oh," she said.

Callie wasn't sure how to react. On one hand, she was happy that Mark was getting the family she knew he wanted. He already had Sloan, but his relationship with her wasn't exactly traditional. She knew he was looking forward to doing things differently with this child.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel just a little bitter. Maybe she was a horrible friend, but she couldn't control it. She and Arizona had been trying and waiting for two years now with no baby to show for it. Mark and Lexie weren't even trying and now they would most likely have a baby before she and Arizona.

"I'm sorry."

Callie forced a smile. "Don't apologize, Mark. It's a good thing. Really."

"But you're jealous right?"

"Don't hate me," she nodded.

"I get it," Mark said. "You guys deserve a kid as much as Lexie and I. If not more. And it's been such an issue for you."

"I really am happy for you, Mark. Of course. But just…"

"You hate that you have no say at all in when you get to be a mom. And it was too easy for us."

"Yeah. I'm at the mercy of some other pregnant person who decides we'd be good parents."

"I know."

"The lab just gave me Adam Johnston's x-rays," Arizona said, walking up to Callie with them. "I'll book an OR."

"Um, yeah," she cleared her throat as she looked at them. "I'll go talk to him and his parents. Or do you want to?"

"You're the Ortho. You'll probably be who they want to hear it from."

"Okay."

"You okay?" Arizona asked, just sensing something was off about Callie.

"We'll talk later," she said. "I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Okay," Arizona said. With that, she walked away.

"You really okay?" Mark asked.

"I really am happy for you," she assured him. "I just want the same thing so badly."

"I know you do. I figured telling you first was best. I wanted you to hear it from me and not some nurse."

"Thanks, Mark," she said. "And congratulations."

"Thanks," he replied. "And it'll work out for you, too."

"Yep," she nodded as she got up.

* * *

><p>On Christmas day, Lexie was feeling better and so were Callie and Arizona. They really appreciated how understanding Mark and Lexie were when it came to how they would feel. It helped them feel a lot less bad about the feelings of jealousy that they couldn't help feeling.<p>

They decided that not being happy for them was pointless. It wouldn't make their match come any sooner. They were looking at it as one more friend that their baby would have one day and that helped.

By the time they sat down to Christmas dinner, the entire hospital staff seemed to know of Lexie's pregnancy. Their guests were trying not to say much, hoping not to hurt Callie and Arizona's feelings.

"It's okay to talk about it," Callie said. "Be happy for them. We are."

"We don't have to –" Lexie replied.

"Really, it's fine."

"You're gonna have a cousin!" Arizona told almost-two-year-old Audrey. "What do you think about that?"

"Huh?" the little girl replied.

"Auntie Lexie has a baby in her belly," Derek explained. "She and Uncle Mark are having a baby."

"Pretty cool, huh?" Meredith asked. "Are you excited, Audrey?"

"I think our baby's excited that you'll be its cousin, you know," Mark told the toddler.

"Oh," she said.

"What do you think?" Lexie asked. "You like babies, don't you? You play with your dolls a lot."

"Audey baby," she nodded, sweetly mispronouncing her own name. "Food baby, pay baby…"

"You feed your babies and play with them?" Callie asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you show Uncle Mark and Auntie Lexie how?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh, good."


	14. Good Sign

"No, Daddy," Callie said. "No we didn't find a potential birth mom yet."

It was now the end of May and Callie and Arizona were still waiting for their baby. They had been working a lot, hoping that staying busy would help time pass quickly until they were contacted.

"Well, somebody should've picked you by now. What do they think is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Daddy," she replied. "They're not looking for a family to adopt a dog. We're talking about a child. That's not a simple decision."

"Well, no."

"It'll happen," Callie told him. "We just have to wait. Even more. We're like experts at waiting now anyways."

Her pager went off and she checked it to find that it a 911. "Dad, I've gotta go," she said, quickly hanging the phone up and running toward the room. She assumed that her dad didn't exactly love the hang-up, but she didn't have a choice.

Mark was standing there. "Hey."

"You paged me 911?" Callie asked. "Are you serious, Mark?"

"My patient is seventeen and pregnant," he said. "Which means I don't get to operate today, since it's not emergent."

"You were doing elective plastic surgery on a teenager?"

"She was in a car accident last year. She needed some pretty extensive work done, and her surgeon at the time butchered her nose. She wasn't happy with it, so her parents sought me out. I feel for this girl, so I agreed. She'll be starting college in the fall. She wants to put all this behind her, but that's not my My point is that she didn't know she was pregnant. The pre-op blood work…"

"Mark, that's sweet," she said. "Really. But this girl just found out she's having a baby. Don't overwhelm her. If she chooses adoption, great. But that's not a choice she's ready to make today. If she does, the adoption is likely to just fall apart."

"So you don't want me to give her your pass along card?" he asked.

"Mark, we can't. The chief said –"

"Fine."

Arizona ran up. "Sloan, why are you paging me 911?"

"His patient is pregnant," Callie said. "He wanted to mention us, but the poor girl literally just found out. I want our adoption to work and a rush to judgment won't help. Plus, the chief said we can't."

"I could just slip it in her bag," Mark said. "She'd never know it was me, and she wouldn't have to use it."

"Mark, we can't. Our cards are posted. If she's supposed to see them, she will."

"Just trying to help."

"Which we appreciate," Arizona smiled. "But Calliope's right. We can't use our jobs as a way to find a baby."

"Fine."

* * *

><p>"How's Greyson?" Mark asked, placing a hand on Lexie's twenty-eight week belly.<p>

They had found out a that they were expecting a son and Mark was thrilled. Not that he didn't love his daughter, but he couldn't wait for some father-son bonding time. Greyson Mark Sloan would be his name, since they thought it was fitting, and they were already using it even though they weren't expecting their little guy for about twelve more weeks.

"Kinda calm right now," she said. "He wasn't earlier when I was in surgery, but…"

"Oh," he smiled. "Are you sleeping, Greyson?" he asked his girlfriend's bump. "Maybe you just think the OR's much more exciting."

"Already raising a little surgeon," Lexie laughed. "You have problems."

"Nope," Mark said. "Mommy doesn't know what she's talking about, Greyson."

"Question," Callie smiled as she walked up on the couple and handed Mark the coffee she owed him as a result of a friendly wager over a patient. "If she's Little Grey, what is he? Littler Grey?"

"I guess," Mark laughed. Lexie playfully smacked his arm. "What?"

"We are not referring to our child as 'Littler Grey.' His name is Greyson."

"I'm kidding," Mark replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I know," he said.

Callie's phone rang and she answered it.

"Hi, Callie," the voice on the other end said. "It's Sasha."

"Hi, Sasha."

"I have some news for you," she said. "We were contacted by potential birth parents."

"You were?"

"I want to make it clear that they haven't chosen you yet," she said. "But they are interested in talking more with you."

"Good," she said.

"Their names are Kayla and Jared. They already know the baby's a boy, and Kayla's due November 14. They really liked your profile."

"What now?"

"They would be interested in a semi-open adoption. So they'd like to exchange contact information and go from there. Maybe meet in person a few times before the birth if everybody would feel good about that."

Callie and Arizona had decided – after talking to as many adoptees as they possibly could – that a semi-open adoption was their goal. This meant that they would exchange updates about the baby through emails, letters, cards, and photos. This would give their child some contact and answers, but still give them the space they felt they needed as parents. Also, semi-open adoptions were much easier to turn into fully open ones in the future. Opening a closed adoption wasn't simple, so they were finding middle ground.

"Oh, okay. Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome."

"Bye, Sasha."

"Bye."

"Did they find somebody?" Mark asked.

"Maybe," she explained. "This couple liked our profile."

"Good," Lexie smiled.

"I've gotta go tell Arizona," she smiled.

"She's in the OR," Derek, who happened to be walking by, told her.

"Crap!"

* * *

><p>Callie waited outside the OR for Arizona to be done. It took about an hour, but it felt like at least ten. Finally, her wife emerged.<p>

"What are you -?" she asked.

"Sasha called," Callie told her. "She gave our contact info to a couple who liked our profile."

"Seriously?"

"Yep!" she smiled, giving her a kiss. "They could pick us."

"We can't get too excited too soon."

"I know, but how do we not?"

Arizona smiled. "Did she say anything else?"

"Their names are Kayla and Jared. The baby's a boy and it's due November 14."

"No way," Arizona gasped.

"I know," Callie said. "That seems so soon, right?"

"That's Timothy's birthday."

"Whoa."

"That's gotta mean something, right? It's a good sign, isn't it?"

"I hope so."


	15. Meeting

Over the next month, Callie and Arizona exchanged a series of emails, Facebook messages, texts, and phone calls with Kayla and Jared. It was important that they not only learn about Callie and Arizona, but that Callie and Arizona learn about them, too. The more comfortable everyone was able to eventually get with each other, the better.

Callie and Arizona learned that Kayla and Jared had been a couple for almost two years, but they had broken up just a few weeks before Kayla learned of her pregnancy. The two – who would both be nineteen by the time their baby was born – were still friends, and most importantly, they were able to make this important choice as a united team.

"How far along is she?" Mark asked as Callie and Arizona helped him set up for Lexie's baby shower.

"Twenty weeks," she replied.

"How did they know the sex already a month ago?"

"Oh, they have some genetic issues in their families, so they had an amnio done. The baby's fine, though."

"Good."

"If we do adopt him, our boys'll be buddies," Callie said. "I can see it now."

"Duh."

"Sorry we can't stay for the shower," she said. "We have potential birth parents to meet."

"Good luck."

"Thanks," she said. "I left the gift over there," she pointed. It was the only one in the room so far.

He smiled. "How hard was it to resist doing your own shopping?"

"You have no idea," Callie said.

"They'll pick you."

"The scary thing is that they could technically change their minds up until he's forty-eight hours old."

"Yeah."

"We just have to hope they don't," Arizona smiled.

"I know."

* * *

><p>Callie and Arizona met with Kayla and Jared at a local park. They were all hoping that the openness of the large space would help it feel more conversational and less interrogational. It was going to be tough from both ends, but they just wanted this to go as well as it possibly could.<p>

"Hi," Kayla smiled as she and Jared approached the two women.

The brunette's hands were shaking just slightly as she pulled the bottom of her top down to cover the bottom of her belly.

"Hi," Arizona said. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Thank you for meeting with us," Jared said.

"Of course," Callie smiled.

They walked around the park in relative silence for awhile just making small talk. They discussed Jared's plans for a career in advertising after college and Kayla's desire to one day run a camp for children whose parents didn't have the funds to send them to most camps. She was currently studying child development, but that was what she wanted to pursue in the long run after her degree was earned.

"I never went to camp," Arizona said. "Didn't have much interest."

"Why not?"

"We moved so much already, that I guess I didn't want to leave home when I finally felt like it was home."

"Oh, right," Jared nodded. "Because of your dad, right?"

"Yeah," she said.

"I went every year," Callie said. "I loved camp."

"My parents sent me, but it was always a struggle," Kayla explained. I'm glad they could come up with the money, but I hated that they had to give up so much to do it. If I could somehow help families send their kids without such a financial issue that would be awesome. A lot of my favourite memories were made at camp. Actually, I'm usually still a counsellor at the camp I used to go to in the summers. But this year, it just didn't seem like the best idea. The other counsellors begged me to come, but it's just not the same. I can't go rafting or do any of the really fun things we do with some of the older kids. Plus, it's more important that I'm here and trying to make a decision about what we're gonna do."

"Are your friends supportive of you considering adoption?" Arizona asked.

"Our close ones," Jared nodded. "We've definitely found out who our real friends are."

"Oh."

"Some people just think we're taking the easy way out or being selfish. There's nothing easy about adoption," Kayla said. "We're considering you guys because it's best for the baby. Not because we don't love him or because we broke up," Kayla said.

"Right," Callie said.

"How do your family and friends feel about you wanting to adopt?"

"We've gotten some not so nice comments from random coworkers," Arizona said. "And then the comments where people think they're being nice, but it's not. Like the 'oh, I'm happy you're starting the adoption process, but it sucks you won't have your own kid.'"

"Adoption will make that baby yours, though," Jared said. "It's not like you'd be any less of parents. You just wouldn't be the biological ones. You'd do everything a parent does, though."

"Exactly."

"But our close friends are really happy for us," Callie smiled. "Actually, my best friend is having a little boy in August. He's hoping for a little playmate for him."

Kayla smiled.

"You said your mom is not in your life, though?" Jared asked Callie.

"Nope," Callie said. "She's decided that she doesn't support me now that I'm with a woman. Which hurts, but I've kind of had to learn that it's her loss. And Arizona's mom is amazing. It won't make up for mine, but having her helps."

"I don't understand how a mom could just not support such a big part of their child's life," Kayla said, absentmindedly rubbing her bump. "He's not even here and I couldn't imagine telling him I don't support his happiness. Even though we're choosing adoption for him, that feeling won't go away."

"I hope it makes me a better mom one day," Callie said. "I understand that it came as a shock to my family. I get that that's normal. It was a shock to me at first, really. I mean, I was married to a man. I had never been with women. But for my mom to just not come around hurts."

"Yeah," she said. "I have a question."

"What?"

"We know about your marriage," she told Callie. "But have you had any long-term relationships that you really thought would last, Arizona?"

"Not really," Arizona said. "This is the only one that I really, really feel like it's going to last. I've had a few last for a year or so, but then we'd just part ways because of whatever reason. I've never had another relationship get so serious. Which is why I married her."

Kayla smiled. "You guys are so cute," she said as she watched the two women hold hands.

"We have a question for you," Callie replied. "What made you want to meet with us? As opposed to a couple where there would be a mom and a dad."

"We contacted one straight couple we liked, but in the end it just wasn't a good fit. Nothing was wrong with them, but I just told Jared that I couldn't see our baby with them."

"Yeah," Jared nodded.

"The next people who stood out were you guys," she simply explained. "And I love that you do have friends in your lives who would serve as a male role model for him. It's not like he'd be missing that."

"What was it about us that stood out?" Arizona wondered.

Jared started laughing. "Quit it," Kayla warned, blushing.

"No, tell them," he insisted. "Total honesty, remember?"

"It makes me seem like a dork," she laughed. "But I saw that one picture of you guys at work. And Arizona had the scrub cap with the butterflies and it just seemed very…mom-like to me. Which, I know you work with kids and it's the dumbest reason in the world, but it made me wanna look at your profile more and more."

"See?" Arizona told Callie. "People love the butterflies."

"They just don't exactly scream hard-core surgeon," Callie said. "In any other specialty –"

"Yeah, yeah…"

* * *

><p>"How'd it go?" Teddy asked Arizona the next day at work.<p>

"Great," she smiled. "They're easy to talk to. It started off a bit weird, but by the end we were laughing and joking and just having a good time."

"Good," she said. "So, when do you find out if they choose you?"

"They're gonna take some time and think about it a little more," she said. "But hopefully soon."

Callie walked up. "Mark and Lexie love the onesies," Callie told her. "They told me to tell you."

"Good."

"I told them we might need hand-me-downs," she smiled. "So they shouldn't get too attached."

"Niether should we."

"But that went so well!"

"I know, but still."

"Hope, Arizona."

"Oh, I am," she smiled. "I'm just not reserving baby clothes either."

"So suggesting names would be wrong?"

"Save them."

"Will do," she nodded.


	16. Dinner and a DVD

Callie and Arizona continued to have contact with Kayla and Jared over the next month and it seemed to be going well. The women always felt tempted to ask what the odds were that they would be the baby's parents, but they knew that no one could rush the decision. Kayla and Jared would let them know when they were ready.

They got a very good feeling when Kayla called and asked if she and Jared could come over one afternoon. Callie invited them for dinner and they were excited to accept.

Containing their excitement for the next two hours was the tough part. Finally, they arrived and Arizona noticed that Jared had a small package in his hand that was wrapped in blue wrapping paper.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Well…" Kayla smiled. "Can we sit down first?"

Callie laughed. "Sure."

They all sat down and Callie got them both something to drink. "Thanks," Kayla said as she took the glass of water.

"You're welcome," Callie replied, sitting next to her wife.

"So, we wanted to come today to give you this," Jared said after what felt like a year long pause.

It was probably only a few seconds but the excitement was intense. He handed Callie the blue package and she started opening it. Inside was a DVD.

"It's of the ultrasound," she said. "My second one where we found out it's a boy. We thought his mommies should have it. Oh, and these, too," she said, taking the ultrasound pictures out of her purse and handing them over.

"We're gonna be his mommies?" Arizona smiled.

"You are," she nodded.

"Thank you so much," Callie said, not at all able to hold back the joyful tears.

"We know you'll give him the best life," Jared said. "There's just something about you guys."

"It feels right," Arizona nodded.

They had the same feeling towards Kayla and Jared. There was something about them. They were usually easy to talk to, and the match just seemed to make itself.

"Exactly," Kayla smiled.

"Can I give you a hug?" Callie asked.

Of the two of them, Arizona was the much more outwardly affectionate one. Callie didn't go around hugging just anyone. This moment, however, called for a hug. These people were trusting Callie and Arizona to parent their child.

"Yeah," she smiled, standing up and giving Callie, then Arizona both hugs.

"We know this wasn't an easy choice for you," Arizona said. "But we want you to know how much it means to us. How much he means to us."

"He'll have it all with you guys," Kayla smiled. "I have no worries whatsoever. You'll turn him into such a great man."

"We will," Callie said. "But can we not talk about him growing up just yet?"

Jared laughed.

"On the way over, I was telling him all about you guys," Kayla said. "He had been kicking all afternoon, but he just kinda stopped."

"She thinks it means he was listening," Jared smiled.

"He totally was!"

"Do you guys wanna see what will be his room? Or…?"

"Sure," Jared nodded.

"Right now, it's a guest room," Arizona said as they lead them in.

"Actually, we'll probably keep a bed in here for awhile. So that when our parents come, they can stay here. And when he's older, we'll probably move anyways. So he can have a yard," Callie explained.

"We decided, huh?" Arizona laughed.

They had thrown around this idea, but nothing was set in stone or anything.

"I said probably," Callie defended.

"Do you guys know how you wanna paint or anything?" Kayla asked, figuring that even though they hadn't know until just a few minutes ago that the little man was going to be theirs, they probably still had some ideas in mind.

Callie laughed. "We have totally opposite decorating styles. She likes pastels and I…don't."

"He's a baby!" Arizona replied. "I get to go with a pastel for a baby room."

"We'll see about that," she said.

"I do wanna put his name on the wall," Arizona said. "When we know what it is."

"About that," Jared said. "Technically we could name him and you could just change his name, but that's pointless. So just let us know his name and that's what'll go on the birth certificate. He won't have your last name yet, but…"

"Yeah," Callie smiled. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Dinner was great, but after Kayla and Jared left Callie and Arizona decided to curl up on the couch together and watch the ultrasound DVD. Kayla was now twenty-four weeks along, but the gender reveal ultrasound had been done at twenty-one weeks.<p>

"Look at that face," Callie smiled. "Chubby cheeks already."

"I wouldn't say 'chubby,'" Arizona corrected. Most of the fat that the baby would have at birth simply had not formed yet. "But cheeks, yes."

"They're kinda chubby," she smiled. "They're adorable cheeks."

"Well, yes."

They continued watching in silence for a few more minutes. "That's our son, Mommy," Callie finally whispered.

"I know," she nodded

"He's perfect."

"He needs a name."

"Shh," Callie said, putting her finger to her own lip. "No talking."

"You started it."

"I can't get over the fact that he's gonna be ours," she explained. "We've seen ultrasounds before, but never of our child."

"Well, there was that one of the embryos after the IVF."

"Totally not the same."

She smiled. "I was joking," she said. "Yeah, it's the coolest thing ever. We should call our parents."

"Okay," she agreed, pausing the DVD first. "Yours first?" she asked as Arizona picked up the phone.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Unless…"

"No, go ahead," she smiled.

Arizona dialled her parents' number and tried to come up with a cute way to tell them as it rang. She had nothing, but she figured she would just spit it out anyway.

"Hello?" her mom answered.

"Hey, Mom," she smiled. "You're on speaker," she told her.

"Hi, Callie," Barbara added.

"Hi," Callie replied.

"What are you two doing?"

"Oh, just watching the DVD of your grandson's ultrasound," Arizona beamed, loving the fact that she was so nonchalant about the reveal.

"Oh, that's nice."

"Mom, did you hear me?" she replied. "I said –"

Then it clicked. Barbara took in her daughter's words. "They chose you?"

"They did," she nodded. "We're gonna have a baby boy in about three months."

"I can't wait."

"Neither can we," Callie said. "And it's just an ultrasound, but so far we think he might be the cutest baby ever."

Barbara laughed.

Both grandfathers-to-be were excited as well. Already, the newest member of the Robbins-Torres family had so much love, and they had only known he would be in their family for a little while. Callie and Arizona couldn't get over how blessed they were to have been picked. Of course, there was still a little worry that Kayla and Jared could change their minds, but most of what they were feeling was just sheer elation. They were closer than ever to becoming mothers and that felt fantastic.

* * *

><p>There was a knock on the door and Mark walked in with a very pregnant Lexie behind him. "At this time next week, I'll be a daddy," he announced. "Well, again technically."<p>

"It could still be weeks, Mark," Callie said. Everyone had been reminding them of this for awhile now. "Most first-time moms –"

"I'm being induced on my due date," Lexie explained. "Apparently Greyson's huge and everything seems well-developed. We've decided that since he'll be fine if we deliver then, that we'd rather just do it."

"How huge is 'huge?'" Arizona asked.

"He's estimated to be about eight three," Mark said. "And by next week, he'll be even bigger."

"Wow," Callie said.

"Yeah," Lexie nodded. "See why I wanna be induced now? I mean, we know he'll be developed. That's most important. But it's also pretty important that I actually be able to get him out. Not that that's fun with any size baby, but still."

Mark turned around and noticed the TV. "Is that…?"

"Greyson's gonna have a friend," Callie nodded.

"They picked you?" Lexie smiled. "That's awesome!"

"Yep!" Arizona smiled.


	17. Greyson Mark Sloan

"I don't have to go to school this week," Laura Grey-Thompson told her Uncle Mark. "My friends do."

"You're excited about that, huh?"

"Yeah."

Molly and now six-year-old Laura had flown in last night so that Molly could be at Greyson's birth. Since the sisters hadn't seen each other in awhile, Mark decided that he would take Laura to wait for Grandpa Thatcher, who would be babysitting her until Greyson arrived, so that Lexie and Molly could have some time alone. Lexie's induction had begun, but she wasn't technically even in labour yet, so they could all just relax and wait.

"You'll have to tell Greyson he got you a little vacation, huh?"

"And I got to play with Audrey last night."

"Yeah."

"She likes me."

"Good."

Callie and Arizona walked in. "Aren't you supposed to be having a baby?" Callie asked her best friend.

"I thought I'd give her time with Molly. Nothing's happening right now anyway."

"Oh."

"Laura and I are waiting for Grandpa."

"Hi, Laura," Arizona smiled. "You're getting a new cousin, huh?"

"My first boy cousin," she nodded.

"Cool."

"But Auntie Lexie's naming him Greyson," she said, sounding pretty displeased.

Mark laughed. "What's wrong with Greyson?"

"It's like…a last name," she said, with attitude beyond her years.

"That's why we picked it," he explained. "Because it's like Auntie Lexie's last name."

"Oh."

"My daughter's name is Sloan," he said, getting a giggle out of the first grader. "And I didn't even pick it."

"That's funny," he said.

"What did you want Greyson's name to be?" Callie asked.

"I told Auntie Lexie I like Robert."

"Who's Robert?" Arizona asked.

"A boy in my class."

"Oooo…!" " Uncle Mark teased.

"Stop that!" she blushed. "We're just friends because that's gross!"

"Oh," he replied. "Pretty soon Callie and Arizona are gonna have a little friend for Greyson."

"Cool."

* * *

><p>"Timothy?" Callie asked as she and Arizona grabbed a quick coffee with Teddy in between surgeries.<p>

They had started trying to find the perfect name for their son, and she thought that Arizona might want to honour her brother.

"No," Arizona replied. "I don't want to reuse his name."

"Just thought I'd ask."

"It would make a nice middle name, though," she smiled.

"Deal," she agreed.

"When's she due again?" Teddy asked.

"November 14," Calli said.

"Oh."

"Fifteen weeks and we still have hardly anything," Arizona said. "I mean, of course we went and grabbed some things, but nothing major."

"That's okay," Callie smiled. "We'll have a baby shower."

"We will?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't do baby showers," she said. "Plus, neither of us are pregnant."

"So we're not having a shower?" she asked. "Seriously?"

"Let's just have a party after he's here."

"Are you nervous they'll change their minds?"

"Yeah," she admitted.

"Arizona, we can't live in –"

"Plus, I just hate baby showers."

"How?"

"I just do," she replied with a shrug.

"Okay, but we have to have a party for him once he's here."

"Sure."

"And we really should stop discussing names at work," she proposed.

They had decided not to announce their son's name to anyone but his birth parents until after he was born. They had found out the sex already, but that wasn't there choice. They still wanted some sort of fun announcement to make when Baby was born.

"Good point."

"But then how will I know what it is?" Teddy asked.

"Do you really care?" Arizona laughed.

"Yes! I don't want somebody with an ugly name calling me Aunt Teddy, thank you."

"Why would we pick an ugly name?" Callie asked.

* * *

><p>"Roman?" Arizona asked later that night as they made dinner. "Roman Timothy Robbins-Torres," she smiled.<p>

"You love it?"

"A little," she nodded.

"I don't," she said. "It's a good name, just not for my kid."

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"We'll keep looking," she smiled. "After we eat, do you want to help me with his baby book?"

"He's not here yet, Callie."

"I know," she said. "But we can put in his ultrasound pictures and stuff."

"I actually have something to add," she said.

"You do?" Callie asked, tasting from the pot of chilli. "What is it?"

"When we were at the park the day we met Kayla and Jared, I picked up a leaf and put it in my purse. It would be kinda cool for the baby to have that as a momento of where this whole thing began."

"That's such a great idea," Callie smiled. "You're getting all sentimental about memories already, huh Mommy?"

"Yep," she smiled. "Question."

"What?"

"If I'm Mommy, you're…?"

"Madre," she said.

"I like it."

Callie and Arizona's phone's both went off. "I'm assuming Greyson's here," Callie smiled, going to check and finding a picture along with a text that announced his time of birth – 5:23 on August 19, 2011 – and weight – eight pounds, eight and a half ounces.

"He's here?"

"Yep," she nodded. "I think he looks like Mark, but with a head full of dark hair."

"Cute."

* * *

><p>Once they were finished cooking, the moms-to-be enjoyed dinner together. They had decided to make every effort to have as many dinners together as they could now. They knew that date nights – even if they were at home – would be harder to come by once their baby boy arrived. Of course, they welcomed the busy times he would bring them, but they still wanted time for just the two of them while it was easy to get. Also, they were determined to make family dinners together a tradition in the Robbins-Torres household, so they were starting a little early.<p>

After dinner, they worked on the first few pages of Baby's baby book. They couldn't do much yet, but it was exciting to start.

"We should write the names we considered in here," Arizona said as they brainstormed while working. "That way he can see what names we liked, and finally the name we decided on."

"I like that," Callie smiled. "But no to Kai?" She had just suggested it.

"It sounds like a nickname for Kyle," she replied. "I wanna give him something that sounds like a full name."

"Kai is a full name."

"But people might assume his full name is Kyle."

"Fine."

"Sorry."

"No, I want us to find one we both love."

"Do you want it to be a Spanish name?"

"Well, Kai's not," she said. "And I like that. So, not nescessarily. I mean, if it was, that would be cool because Baby'll probably end up speaking at least a little Spanish, but it doesn't have to be."

"Yeah. Okay," she smiled.

"What names do you like?"

"I was thinking maybe Atticus?" she asked. "I had a patient who was reading _To Kill a Mockingbird _today and it reminded me I love that book."

"But we'd end up calling him Attie."

"We would?"

"I would," she nodded. "And Addie'll always be Addison to me."

"Okay."

"This might take awhile."

"Hopefully not the next four months."

Callie laughed and gave her wife a kiss. "We'll figure out who he is, Mommy."

"I know."

* * *

><p>Just as they were finishing up the work they could do on Baby's book, Mark called and asked if they would like to come meet Greyson. They hadn't planned on it tonight, figuring that only family should go because Lexie had to be pretty tired and the proud parents would probably like time alone with their son, but Mark pointed out that Callie and Arizona basically were a part of his family, so they decided to go.<p>

"Hey, Greyson!" Callie smiled as she took the newborn into her arms. "It's nice to meet you!"

"You're a big boy, huh?" Arizona asked him. "Especially for a thirty-seven weeker."

"Oh, yeah," Mark smiled.

"He's adorable," Callie said.

"He's a Sloan," Mark pointed out. "The Sloan's don't make babies who aren't adorable."

"Mark, can you grab me that water bottle?" Lexie asked.

"Here," he said, picking it up and handing it over.

"How you feeling?" Callie asked.

"It's crazy," Lexie said. "I've never needed sleep so badly in my life, but I'm just too happy to sleep."

"We have the rest of our lives spend with him," Mark smiled. "He's not going anywhere. We can sleep."

"They grow so quickly, Daddy," Arizona pointed out, leaning in and letting Mr. Greyson take hold of her finger.

"Shh…" Callie said. "Just enjoy the babiness. If he has to grow up, so will ours."

"But if he grows up just a little, we get ours," Arizona said.

"Grow up fast, okay?" Callie asked him.

"Do you want a buddy here soon?" Mark asked. "Callie and Arizona are gonna be mommies to your buddy."

"We are!" Callie smiled. "Yep!"

"Where's everybody else?" Arizona wondered.

"They went to eat," Lexie said.

"Oh."

"And Grandpa and Cousin Laura are on their way here to meet him," she added.

"They'll love you," Callie said. "Because you're really, really cute!"


	18. Soon

Two months later, Madre and Mommy were almost ready for Baby. His nature-themed nursery that was full of a happy mix of soft colours Mommy loved and bolder tones that Madre had to have was pretty much done. All they had to do was add his name to the wall when they chose it, and a few pictures after he was born.

It was perfect that Mark and Lexie were going through Greyson's newborn stage before their little guy even arrived, so that they could get tips on what baby items were really useful and which were just taking up space or not as essential.

They were also working on deciding on a final choice for their little guy's name. They each narrowed it down to two names that they liked best, but choosing only one was harder than they thought it would be.

"I love Johnathan's meaning," Arizona smiled. "It can't get any more perfect for him."

Johnathan had been Arizona's favourite ever since Roman had been vetoed. She had been thumbing through a baby name book the next day and she thought that its meaning – "God has given" - would suit their little man perfectly. It summed up exactly how she and her wife felt about their soon-to-be son. Their attempts at fertility treatments had all failed, and that wasn't easy to come to terms with, but they were being given this wonderful little boy anyways. They felt like maybe the adoption was always meant to be; they had just had to learn that the hard way. Now they couldn't be more grateful for the gift their son would be.

"It's awesome," Callie agreed. "But do people really know its meaning? No. They're focusing on how it sounds and looks."

"It sounds and looks fine," Arizona said. "It's a great name."

"I'm not saying it isn't. I just don't think it sounds like our son's name. I don't hate it. I think it's perfect for somebody else's kid. Just not ours."

"Fine."

"Sorry, Mommy."

"No," Arizona replied. "We should both love it."

"And you don't love Miles," she said. "So I guess that's off the table, too."

Miles was Callie's favourite choice. She just loved the way the name sounded together: Miles Timothy Robbins-Torres. It was nothing too grand for their little guy, but it was still a solid name that would age well with him.

"Sorry."

"That leaves us with two," she said.

"Which one do you like?"

"Which one of what?" Mark asked as he walked up.

"Names," Arizona said. "And no, you can't know. We'll tell you that it's not Timothy –"

"That's his middle name," Callie said.

Arizona smiled. "Right," she replied. "But not his first. Neither is Roman or Johnathan. Or Kai or Miles."

"Good thing he's not a twin," Mark pointed out.

"I know, I know. Kai and Miles have the same sound in them. And Roman and Johnathan end similarly. I guess we just like those sounds."

"So which one of you wins?"

"Neither," Arizona said. "The other two we like best don't sound like either of those."

"Why can't you just tell people what they are?"

"Because we don't want to," Callie said. "Why do you care?"

"Because if it's ugly, I'm going to have to practice faking that I don't hate it."

"It won't be ugly," Callie laughed. "They're both great names."

"Anyways, you have a consult for me, Robbins?"

"Cleft palate," Arizona nodded.

"Those always make me look good," he smiled. "Everybody loves the guy who fixes the baby's face."

"It's all about you, Mark," Callie said. "Not at all about giving the baby a chance to talk normally. Or eat normally. Or anything else."

"Well, those, too," he replied. "But I spent all night discussing Halloween costumes for Greyson. Lexie's getting all into it. I say we stick him in a white onesie and call him a ghost. He's two months old."

"You're no fun," Arizona said.

"I'm excited for his first Halloween," Mark smiled. "Really. But this year's not the year to go all out."

"It's always the year to go all out," Callie replied.

* * *

><p>Daddy didn't win when it came to Greyson's costume, but Lexie agreed not to go all out either. She ended up finding a pumpkin onesie and a little orange hat with a rounded top to be his costume. It was low-key, but still adorable.<p>

"You're so cute!" Callie told him as she held him that night.

Just as Mark and Lexie were getting ready to take him home from daycare, they were both needed on a case, so Auntie Callie offered to watch him for awhile.

Arizona walked up. "Hello, Mr. Greyson!" she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Mommy and Daddy are dealing with a patient's post-op complications," Callie explained. "So we're just hanging out. Right, Bud?" she asked, using his little orange and black bib to wipe up some spit up.

Greyson's started fussing. "Oh, no, no," Arizona told him. "It's okay."

"Go see Arizona," Callie said, passing the baby over.

"Why all the fussin'?" Arizona asked.

"I'm thinking he's probably hungry," Callie said. "Should I go heat up a bottle for you, Greyson?"

"Say 'yes, please, Auntie Callie!'" Arizona replied.

"I'll be back," Callie said, taking the only bottle left out of Greyson's diaper bag.

"Is it passed your dinner time?" Arizona asked the infant as Callie walked away. "I know! Mommy and Daddy got busy! On Halloween! I hope they're done soon, huh? If not, we'll have fun. Me, you, and Auntie Callie. Sound like a plan?"

"Greyson!" Audrey, who would be three in a few months, squealed as she saw her little cousin.

Arizona turned around. "Look, Baby!" she smiled. "It's Audrey!"

"No," she said.

"No?" Arizona asked.

"Today we have to call her Puppy Dog," Derek explained. "She's a little into the costume."

"Yes," she nodded. "I a puppy dog."

"You are," Meredith nodded. "Wanna go get candy, Puppy Dog?"

"Yeah!"

"Have fun," Arizona told her.

Uncle Derek stole a kiss off of Greyson's head and Audrey turned around. "Daddy!"

"What?" Derek asked.

"Candy!"

"I can't tell Greyson 'happy Halloween' first?"

"Oh," she said. "Okay."

"Where are Mommy and Daddy?" Meredith asked the little boy.

"They're with a patient," she said, slipping a finger into Greyson's mouth to pacify him until Callie returned, since he was getting fussier and fussier.

"Uh oh!" Derek replied.

"Say 'Auntie Callie's gettin' my milk all ready.'"

"Good," he smiled.

* * *

><p>"All done?" Callie asked as she finished feeding Greyson.<p>

They had brought him to an on-call room so that he could eat his meal in peace, and not in the middle of a busy hospital hallway.

Arizona smiled. At one time, she had questioned whether or not she'd make a good mom; if she was being honest, she still did. She wanted their son to feel like his adoption really was for the better as he grew older. She didn't want him to feel like they only had him because conceiving a child had proved to be too much of a challenge. She hoped that he'd understand that they know felt like adoption was right; they wanted him and his DNA didn't have anything to do with it.

Arizona had never for a second questioned Callie's parenting ability. Audrey and Greyson weren't even her children, and she was so comfortable with them. It was like she was just meant to be a mommy. Soon, thanks to Kayla and Jared's amazing strength and wisdom, she would be. Arizona couldn't wait for the day that that part of Calliope Torres would come into full force. Their son was going to be one lucky little boy.

"What?" Callie asked, noticing the look on her wife's face.

"You're amazing with him. Look how comfortable he is."

"You're great with kids, too. You're a pediatric surgeon."

"Work is different from this," she said, referring to how Greyson had snuggled up against her. "Huh, Greyson? Callie's so good at that, isn't she?"

"We're gonna have one of these," Callie said.

Arizona laughed. "Yeah."

"That still amazes me. That people trust us to raise their child. I mean, he'll be ours, but right now, he's theirs and they actually chose us. Of all the people they could've picked."

"Yeah," she smiled.

There was a knock on the door and Arizona got up to get it wondering if it was Greyson's mommy or daddy.

"Oh, Karev," she said when she say Alex. "I'm not…we're just –"

"Babysitting?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, some girl named Kayla's asking for you," he said. "I'm assuming she's your kid's –"

"What's she doing here?" Arizona asked. "Is she okay?"

"Maybe Arizona and I'll get a Halloween baby!" Callie softly told Greyson. "He's not exactly named, but that's okay. We'll know when we see him or something, right?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I was just told to find you."

"Oh."

"Let's go," Callie said, picking up Greyson's diaper bag.

"What about him?"

"Until we know more, he can just stay with us. Mark and Lexie can't exactly take him yet."

"Alex can."

"Alex can?" Alex asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Fine," he replied. "C'mere, Dude," he said, taking the baby boy from Callie.

Greyson's made a little fussy sound. "We do love you," Callie said. "Promise. Everybody's just passing you off today, aren't we?"

Arizona laughed.

* * *

><p>Callie and Arizona waited around for about an hour before it was determined that Kayla's contractions were not consistent enough to be true labour pains. She felt bad for causing the false alarm, but they understood. He was their first baby. Neither she nor Jared knew anything about this, and to them, it seemed like labour.<p>

During the wait, Callie and Arizona officially decided on Baby's name. Even though they wanted his name to be a choice his moms made alone, Kayla and Jared had to admit that they loved the choice. It went well with his middle name, with Jared's last name – which he would have until he was about six months old and everything was finalized – and with the hyphenated combination of their last names that he would end up with.

"No baby?" Mark asked when he saw the tired ladies the next morning.

The excitement of maybe having a baby the night before had their adrenaline pumping and they hadn't been able to settle into very sound sleeps.

"Not yet," Callie told him. "But she was two centimeters when McGee checked her. Which could mean nothing, really. Or it could mean that she'll go into labour pretty soon."

"We've waited years for him," Arizona pointed out. "What's a few more weeks?"

"Good point," she nodded. "But still!"

"Next time Greyson's fussing all night, I'll drop him off, 'kay?" Mark teased.

"He doesn't sleep through the night?" Arizona questioned.

"He usually does, but some nights he's just crankier than others."

"Cranky's fine," Callie said. "I just want my kid here."

"Yeah," he smiled. "Soon."

"He has a name."

"Which is?"

"Nice try," Arizona replied.

"You'll know soon," Callie said. "Hopefully really, really, really soon."


	19. Meant to Be

"This is so, so weird," Callie said. "In a few hours, he'll be in our arms."

It was November 12 and Kayla had been in labour for thirteen hours now. She and Jared had invited Callie and Arizona into the room with them, but they declined, feeling like they needed their space. They would only join them for the actual delivery, which would be soon. Right now, the moms-to-be and Grandma and Grandpa – Arizona's parents – were waiting in another room.

Of course, it was in the back of everyone's mind that Kayla and Jared had every right to change their minds until the baby was two days old. This was still scary, but they tried not to worry too much. They had to believe that they would go through with it. Nothing had led them to think anything else so far.

This would also be the room that they would bring the baby back to later. Technically Kayla and Jared would be allowed to keep the baby with them the entire two days that they still had their parental rights, but they felt that it may be too hard to feed him bottles, change his diapers, and then have to part with him after they had sort of started to experience what caring for him was like.

They were planning to spend a few hours with their son that day, and then to say their goodbyes just before he went home. They felt like they needed to let him bond with his moms, not even more with them. Of course, this would be the hardest thing for them to do, but they believed that this was best. They knew that their baby boy would know that they loved him. He would have mommies who had promised to tell him all about his birth family. They would exchange letters and such as he grew and they hoped that he would see that what they decided for him was best.

"Yeah."

"When do we get to hear his name?" Grandpa asked.

"They bought him a blanket with his name on it. So we're gonna wrap him up in it before we bring him back in here," Arizona said.

"Oh."

"That's neat," Barbara replied. "For him to know that it came from them."

"Yeah."

"He's always going to know he's adopted, right?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah," Callie said. "It's a part of his story. It's not something to hide. He'll know he has birth parents, but that we're Madre and Mommy."

"Good."

* * *

><p>The hours that they assumed they'd be waiting quickly became just minutes. A nurse came in and informed them that Kayla had started pushing and that it was time to come welcome their son into the world.<p>

Being in the delivery room, though it was an honour that they wouldn't trade for anything, was a little awkward. This was a part of Baby's story that they didn't have a defined role in. Kayla was doing great and Jared and her mom were a wonderful support system, but Callie and Arizona felt like they were just kind of there without much purpose.

Seeing Kayla in pain was different than seeing just any other patient in pain. They both felt bad; as if this was pain that they should be able to take from her. After all, she was bringing their baby boy into the world only to do what would be the hardest thing she would ever do. Yet, her and Jared's heartache would make them moms. The roller coaster of emotions that came along with adoption clearly hadn't stopped yet. The ride was just beginning, they realized.

At 1:08 p.m., Callie and Arizona watched in absolute amazement as their son was born. He was immediately placed on Kayla's chest, and even though they longed to hold him, they had no problem whatsoever with this. Their son and his biological mother shared an amazing bond and it wasn't fair to either one to end it so abruptly. They could have time together first. His moms would get plenty of cuddles eventually.

"You okay?" Jared asked, not sure if he meant physically or emotionally.

Kayla took it to mean a little of both. "Yeah," she nodded, even though tears were already streaming down her cheeks. They were a combination of happy and sad ones, but she was already feeling how hard it was going to be to say goodbye to this little person who she had shared the last forty weeks with in such a wonderful way.

Jared pressed a kiss to Kayla's forehead, then to her soft lips, and finally to the baby boy's head. Neither of them thought anything of it. They may have been broken up, but right now, that wasn't the point. Right now, only they could feel what the other was feeling and those kisses of comfort felt like the only thing he could do for her.

"Who's cutting the cord?" Dr. McGee asked.

It was the one detail for their unique birth plan that didn't seem to be in Kayla's chart. She felt bad for asking in this sensitive moment, but she needed an answer.

Jared looked over to Callie and Arizona.

"Oh, no," Callie said. "You do it."

They would get so many other special parts of his life. They didn't need to be the ones to cut his cord, too. It was the least they could do for Jared, they felt.

"In between the clamps," Dr. McGee instructed. "It's tougher than it looks, so don't be afraid."

"It doesn't hurt him, right?"

"Nope," she reassured him. "He's fine."

Kayla wiped some blood, vernix, and fluid off of Baby's cheek. "Hi, Buddy!" she smiled through tears. "We love you so much, okay?"

"He knows," Jared said as he cut the baby's umbilical cord. "There you go," he told him. "Is that better?"

As much as Callie and Arizona wanted to rush over to the warmer when they brought the baby over, they let Kayla's mom have a minute with him first. They looked at each other and just knew what the other was thinking: they were so lucky that so many people loved their son so much.

"Look at you!" Callie smiled, snapping a picture when they did head over. "Are you trying to figure this place out, Mijo?" she asked.

"Hi, Handsome!" Arizona smiled. She slipped her figure into his itty bitty fist and he grabbed on as if he knew that holding Mommy's hand was what all little boy's where supposed to love doing. "You've got a grip, huh?"

Callie leaned in for a kiss. "I'm your madre!" she told him. "And this…this is your mommy."

Arizona glanced back at Kayla and Jared. "You have no idea how loved you are."

"We can't thank you enough," Callie told them.

"You don't have to," Kayla choked out. "Really. Thank you."

* * *

><p>Callie and Arizona left to give Kayla and Jared some time with the new little guy. Of course, they couldn't resist showing off the pictures they had of him to anyone and everyone who would look.<p>

"And a name?"

"When we bring him in here, we'll say it," Callie said.

"You're loving this," Mark replied.

"Oh, they totally are," Bailey agreed. "Keeping us guessing."

"He's such a handsome boy," Daniel smiled. "Just like the rest of the Robbins men."

In their minds, the baby boy was already a Robbins-Torres. On paper, he would have a different last name – Harmon – for awhile – but that was only a technicality. They had already accepted the sweet little boy as a part of the family without a doubt.

"He's amazing," Callie said. "You should here his cry. The kid's got a set of lungs on him. That's for sure."

"Everything's healthy?" Barbara asked. "With him? And Kayla?"

"Yep," Arizona smiled. "He's seven six," she added. "Twenty inches. Perfect. And Kayla had a great delivery."

"Good."

Lexie let herself into the room. "He's here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mark nodded.

"I was just down in the daycare visiting Greyson," she said. "I told him his buddy was coming and I swear he knew what I meant."

Callie laughed.

* * *

><p>About two hours later, Jared and Kayla let Callie and Arizona know that they were ready to part with him. They'd see him again in the morning, and then the morning after that – when they would terminate their rights – but for now, they felt it best that he be with his new family.<p>

Madre and Mommy went and dressed their boy up in one of the onesies they had brought for him. It was one Callie had made with his first initial on it. The onesie was white, and the letter dark blue.

"Is that a comfy one?" Arizona asked.

"Are you ready to go tell everyone your name, Mr. Man?" Callie asked. "They can't wait!"

"I think he is," Mommy nodded.

They wrapped him in the soft blue blanket that had his name across it. It wasn't meant for swaddling, but as more of a blanket to lay down on the floor during playtime, so they would have to unwrap it in order to reveal his name, but the giant bundle of blue that surrounded his little body was too hard to resist. Using it as a swaddle blanket for just a little bit wouldn't hurt.

As they walked from Kayla's room back to theirs, Callie found herself thinking a thought that hadn't exactly occurred to her yet. She had hoped, wished, dreamed, and prayed to be able to get pregnant. It had been something she wanted so badly and she had been a little bitter that God hadn't granted her that wish. She didn't want to get greedy, but she was only being honest.

However, as she looked down at the newborn who would be the one to call her Madre, she realized something. This little guy was always supposed to be her son. He and God had kept them waiting and made things a little unconventional, but they were a family. He was a part of their family and if she would've gotten pregnant, he wouldn't be the same person. She was okay with having to adopt now. Apparently God had always been listening to her. She could tell that Arizona felt like their baby belonged too.

This didn't mean that the emotional struggles with infertility were gone, but they would cross that bridge later. For now, they were content to enjoy this little guy, adopted or not.

They opened the door and the admiration of their son started right away. Callie laid him down and unwrapped his blanket, laying it out flat and picking him back up. Of course, a kiss came along with it.

"Everybody, we want you to meet Oliver Timothy," she smiled.

"Oliver," Barbara smiled. "It's great."

"Really?" Arizona asked.

"Of course," Daniel nodded.

"You make a good Oliver," Mark told the little boy.

"Oliver's such a cute name," Lexie added. "For an adorable little boy."

"Are you adorable, Oliver?" Callie asked him. "Say 'yes, Madre!'"

"Only the cutest baby ever!" Arizona replied.

"Congratulations," Mark told them. "It's pretty awesome, isn't it?"

"We waited almost three years for you, Oliver!" Callie asked. "And you're worth every second."

"Happy birthday, Oliver," Arizona said.

Callie handed him over. "I'm so glad you brought up adoption," she told her.

"Or else we wouldn't have you!" Arizona replied. "And you're our Oliver, so we need you, don't we?"

"Welcome to the family, Oliver," Daniel said.

"We get a little crazy sometimes," Mark told him. "But we love each other and that's all that matters."

"Right," Callie nodded.

Arizona passed the baby over to her mom. "I love your 'O' onesie," Barbara told her first grandson. "O for Oliver!"

Oliver pressed his lips out into a circular shape. "He's a genius," she decided. "It's official."

"Are you making an 'O' for Oliver with your lips, Baby?" Callie asked the little boy. "So advanced!" she laughed.

"Tell your moms," Barbara said. "Say 'don't rush me to learn stuff! I'll learn at my own pace. Just let me be a baby!'"

"Deal," Arizona smiled. "Okay, Oliver? You just hang out and be cute. We'll take care of the rest."


	20. Placement Day

**I'm glad everyone's been enjoying the last few chapters so much. The reviews mean a lot. Thanks!**

* * *

><p>Callie and Arizona stood watching the hearts of two people they had grown to care deeply about break. Kayla and Jared would always hold very special places in their hearts, even if Oliver's adoption was only semi-open. They were giving them a son; that was clearly the best gift of all time. Therefore, they only wanted the best for the two nineteen-year-olds. They wished they could take away the pain that signing away their rights to Oliver was causing, but they couldn't. All they could do was be incredibly thankful to these two amazing people that their son got to call his birth parents.<p>

They were waiting outside the room because being in the room didn't seem right. These final goodbyes to the two-day-old were a moment that should only be shared between Oliver and his birth family. They knew their tiny man would never remember it, but they were glad that he was getting to feel all the love that his birth family had for him.

They couldn't wait to get him home and start raising him, but they also knew that they wanted Oliver to always know that the decision to place him for adoption had been one made only out of love. He was not an unwanted baby by any means. His birth parents just knew that they weren't in the right position to raise him. They loved him so much that they had decided that Callie and Arizona were best for him. Oliver would surely have questions as he got older, but they hoped he'd never doubt anybody's love for him.

Eventually, Kayla and Jared emerged from the room. Callie did her best to wipe the tears from her eyes. Knowing that Kayla and Jared were hurting so badly was making her feel so much guilt. She was thrilled to be Oliver's madre, but this part was tough. She could tell Arizona was feeling the same way. They had been warned that this would probably happen, but the warning hadn't helped change much. All she could do was try to remember Mark's advice: over time, Oliver's birth family would adjust. It would all be okay.

Kayla gave Oliver one more kiss. "You be a good boy for your mommies, okay?" she whispered through the tears.

"He will," Arizona smiled. "He's a good boy."

"He's gonna be a handful if he's anything like I was," she warned.

Callie laughed. "That's okay," she said. "We need to be kept busy, huh Oliver?"

Kayla handed Oliver over to Callie. "Bye, Buddy," she said. "We love you, okay?"

"He knows," Jared said, slipping his finger into Oliver's little fist. "Yeah! You know we love you. Of course we do! How could anybody not love Oliver?"

"He's always going to know about you guys," Arizona said. "He'll understand you did this for him because you wanted the best for him."

"Yep," Kayla nodded.

"Thank you so much," Callie smiled, looking down at her son. "He means so much to us."

"We know," she said.

"We'll be in touch," Arizona promised.

Technically, their semi-open adoption agreement wasn't legally binding. The adoption part would eventually be, but there would never be anything legal that required Callie and Arizona to maintain any sort of contact with Kayla and Jared. Technically, they could just take the baby home, wait to finalize his adoption, and never contact Kayla or Jared ever again. However, they completely intended to stay true to their word. They felt that a semi-open adoption was best for their family.

"Thank you," Kayla said.

* * *

><p>After that, the family went back to the room that Callie and Arizona had been staying in since Oliver's arrival.<p>

"So, everything's all set?" Barbara asked immediately when she saw that they had Oliver with them.

She hadn't been able to completely rid herself of the worry that the adoption might fail until that moment when she saw that they had come back with the newborn.

"Yep," Arizona said.

"He can go as soon as we're ready," Callie said, taking a seat on the bed after handing the baby to Grandpa. "Which…"

"Might take a minute," Arizona finished. "That was tough to watch."

"They want him with you," Barbara said.

"Yeah, but we've gotten to know them," Arizona replied. "And they're so, so great. Yet, something that's making us so happy is putting them through such a hard time. We just want to make things easy for them."

"Oh."

"This sounds weird, but it's almost like we feel like they're our kids, too," Callie described. "We only want the best for them, so seeing that just…"

"That's exactly it," Arizona agreed. "Which sounds crazy to anybody else, but...yeah."

Oliver started fussing. "Do you know your moms are upset?" Daniel asked him. "Only because they wish today wasn't so bittersweet. But we really are happy to have you."

"For sure," Callie nodded. "Oliver, we love you so much, Bud."

"He knows," Barbara said.

"Let's get ready to go home," Arizona told her boy. "Okay?"

"Sounds good," Callie replied.

"Do you have a special outfit for him to go home in?" Barbara asked.

"Of course!" Arizona nodded, getting up and going over to their bag.

She pulled out a little blue long-sleeved onesie with grey lettering that said "Brand New" on it. She and Callie had gone shopping just last week to select the ideal outfit to take their little guy home in. Mommy thought this one was adorable, so they had decided it was the one. She couldn't wait to see how Oliver looked in it.

"Is that warm enough?" Callie wondered.

"Calliope, we live across the street," Arizona laughed as she took Oliver and began to change him. "He'll be fine."

"Oh, she just wants to do everything perfect," Barbara smiled.

"Which is impossible," Daniel said. "Even once we had one child, we still made mistakes with Timothy."

"Oliver, did you know you get to go home on Uncle Timothy's birthday?" Arizona asked. "It was the day you were due, but now it's the day you come home! Cool, huh? Your uncle would love you so much!"

"I bet he's pretty happy for your mommy," Barbara said.

This day had been a tough one for the Robbins family in the last few years, but this year Oliver was helping a lot. Of course they would always miss Timothy and no one could replace him in their hearts, but this precious new person did bring them new joy. He gave them something good to focus on today, and none of them doubted for a second that Timothy was watching over his little nephew now.

"He would!" Arizona smiled at the little man. "Yep!"

Callie got up and snapped a picture of their son, who was only wearing his fresh diaper since Mommy hadn't put his outfit on yet.

"Oliver, you're so handsome!"

* * *

><p>Walking through their door with Oliver in their arms was a perfect moment. Arizona looked over at Callie and was barely able to contain her thrill. She felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, only she would now get that same present over and over again every day for the rest of her life. Everything Oliver would learn to do as he grew would spark this feeling again. Each kiss and "I love you" he would shower them with would melt their hearts. This moment in their doorway was the very beginning of such a wonderful ride. Every doubt Arizona had ever had about whether or not motherhood was for her was long gone. Motherhood had begun – even if she wasn't Oliver's legal mommy yet – and she couldn't get enough.<p>

"He's home. He's actually home," Callie said, looking down at the little boy who had just a little bit of brunette hair on his head. She kissed it. "Welcome home, Buddy."

Oliver made a fussy sound. "Say 'I'm just trying to sleep," Barbara said.

"Let's show you your room," Arizona suggested. "You can nap."

They walked into Oliver's nursery and showed him around just a little. "See whose name this is? Is this Oliver's name? In Oliver's room!"

"You belong here," Callie told him. "You do, right?"

"See how he likes the crib," Arizona told her wife.

"But the bassinet –"

"Callie, it's not like we're gonna go anywhere. You know we're all just gonna sit in here and watch him sleep," she laughed. "Tonight he can try the bassinet in our room, but for now, the crib's good."

Callie smiled. "True," she said, laying him down.

Barbara took a picture. "That's your bed, Baby!"

Daniel laughed. The crib seemed so huge compared to his little grandson. "You've got lots of room in there, Oliver."

"He does," Callie nodded. "It's a big bed for such a little man, isn't it?"

"Are you going to call your dad?" Arizona asked Callie.

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "He said he's gonna fly out here soon. Probably this week."

"Good."


	21. Bonding

**A/N: I've been asked if this is the end of this fic, now that Oliver's has arrived. I will assure you that this fic is _NOT_ ending anytime soon. I have so much more story to tell for the Robbins-Torres family. Don't worry about that. Thanks for the awesome reviews. :)**

* * *

><p>The sound of Oliver's cries woke them for the fifth time. At this point, both she and her wife couldn't really call what they were attempting to do "sleeping," since it was more like hoping to get in a thirty minute nap until the next time he woke them.<p>

"Your turn," Arizona grumbled.

Callie reached into the basinet which was on her side of the bed and picked the baby boy up. "What's the problem?" she asked, giving him a kiss. "Are you hungry?"

Assuming this was it, Madre got up and headed into the kitchen where she started heating up a bottle that had been pre-made by Mommy. Oliver continued crying – and getting louder and louder – until the nipple of his bottle was in his mouth.

"There we go," Callie said with a yawn.

Grandma Robbins came out from the nursery which, as planned, doubled as a guest room. "Need any help?" she asked.

"No," she said. "We've got it under control."

"He's been up quite a bit, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, but he's still pretty content. He's really woken up to be fed or changed. Oh, and once when he got a little too warm because of the swaddle blanket. He hasn't been fussy, though."

She smiled. "Good."

To no one's surprise, Mommy emerged from the bedroom. She had told Callie it was her turn and acted like she wasn't getting up, but she couldn't resist spending a few moments with Oliver. They had waited so long for their boy, and a lack of sleep hardly even mattered.

"Did Madre get you some milk?" she asked as she sat down beside Callie and started brushing her thumb ever so gently over the little man's little hairs.

In the fourteen hours since they had been home with him, they had learned that he liked this. Apparently, he found it soothing. They had also discovered that Oliver loved being cuddled close while his madre sang him the same Spanish lullabies that her parents had sung to her as a child. Getting to know Oliver had been amazing so far, and he wasn't even three days old yet. Arizona knew much more bonding time was in store for them, and she was excited for all of it.

They had worried about bonding with Oliver. Part of them couldn't help but wonder if he was wondering where his birth parents were. When he cried, did he want them to pick him up? Was he missing them? Did he feel like he was in a strange place with strange people? They weren't naïve to the fact that this wouldn't be simple. It would take some time for these thoughts to completely subside along with the unique mix of feelings adoption brought up. They were expecting that they would probably feel a sense of guilt for some time. They had also been told that it was common for adoptive parents to feel alone, because none of their family or friends could really relate to what they were going through, even if they tried. It was a unique experience that only the two of them really understood.

However, learning that they had what it took to calm the newborn was helping. He liked the things they were doing for him. They were able to comfort him just like any other mother would. They could do this. Oliver was such a blessing and he made all the tough parts worth it for sure.

"Oliver, Abuelo is going to come meet you tomorrow," Callie smiled as she told her son. "He should be here by dinner time."

"Well, today," Arizona corrected with a yawn.

"Yeah, I guess," she agreed. "He's excited you're here," she told the hungry boy. "You're his first grandbaby, too! You're the first grandbaby on both sides. Did you know that?"

"We'll spoil you lots," Barbara said. "And so will Abuelo, I'm sure."

"Oh, yeah."

"You deserve it, right?" she smiled.

* * *

><p>The Robbins-Torres family went back to bed and manage to get a good three hour stretch of sleep before Oliver insisted that their day begin. Everyone had a pretty low-key morning that was spent just enjoying Oliver.<p>

They were just finishing up his first at-home bath when Mark and Greyson came over for a little visit. "Oh, is it bath time?" Uncle Mark asked.

"Say 'it was, but I'm all clean!'" Arizona replied as she dried the little boy off. They still had to be careful to keep his umbilical cord stump dry, so it had been only a sponge bath this time.

"Greyson wanted to meet you, Buddy," Mark told Oliver.

Greyson started fussing and everyone laughed. "Are you being forced to make friends against your will?" Callie joked. "Poor Greyson!"

"Should we get some clothes on you and go play with Greyson?" Arizona asked.

"You're so happy," Mark said. "After his baths, Greyson's always so mad at us for gettin' him wet."

"He seemed to like it," Grandma smiled.

"Good."

Once Oliver was dressed, they laid both boys down on a blanket. Greyson looked like a giant compared to brand new Oliver and they all found it funny.

"Are you boys buddies?" Arizona asked as she took pictures. "Oliver, what do you think of Greyson?"

"How old is he?" Barbara asked Mark.

"He'll be three months on Sunday," he answered.

Greyson started babbling as he looked over at his little friend. It seemed like the boys were attempting to have their first conversation of many. "Do you boys already have secrets or something?" Arizona asked.

"Well, that's not good," Grandpa joked.

They took a few more pictures before Oliver began fussing. He certainly liked being held much more than he liked being put down, and he had had enough of this for now.

"Okay, okay, okay," Callie said, picking him up. "You'd rather be held, right?"

Greyson started crying because he heard Oliver. "Oh, you love playing on the floor!" Mark laughed as he picked him up. "You're just bein' silly."

Callie kissed Oliver's head. "How dare we put you down?" she asked Oliver. "That's so unfair, isn't it?"

Mark watched the way the new moms interacted with their boy. He knew of their concerns when it came to bonding, but he knew that things would work themselves out. They were naturals, even if Oliver wasn't their biological son. It was so nice to see his friends this happy.

* * *

><p>As promised, Callie's dad arrived that evening. Callie and Colonel Robbins were putting away the dishes after dinner when they heard the knock at the door.<p>

"Hi, Daddy," Callie said as she opened it. "How was the flight?"

"Great," he said, giving his daughter a kiss. "Where's my grandson?"

"Arizona and his grandma are changing his diaper in his room," she laughed. "Put your stuff down first."

Arizona and Barbara brought Oliver out and handed him over to his abuelo. "Say 'hi, Abuelo!'" Arizona smiled.

"You're such an alert little guy, aren't you?" Abuelo asked. "Hello, Oliver!"

"Isn't he perfect?" Callie asked.

"Absolutely."

Oliver started fussing. "Oh, what's wrong?" Arizona asked.

"I wonder if he's still hungry," Callie suggested, since everything else seemed fine. "He only ate one ounce last time."

"Do you want more?" Carlos asked his grandson. "Are you still a little hungry?"

Callie kissed her son's little hand. "I'll go get you some more milk."

The milk did the trick. As soon as Abuelo began feeding him an extra ounce, Oliver settled right back down.

Callie loved watching her dad interact with her son. Carlos Torres couldn't have been more delighted over the little boy, and that was exactly what Callie wanted. She was so glad that Oliver's entire family saw him as a new member. Adopted or not, he was one of them.

"Did he sleep well last night?" Abuelo wondered.

"Not exactly well," Callie replied. "But it wasn't bad. He's not a fussy baby. He only cries when he wants something."

"Good."

"Hopefully tonight's the same," Arizona said. "If not better."

"Hopefully."

"Are you sure you're okay on the couch, Dad?" Callie asked. "We can put you up in a hotel if –"

"Calliope, I can afford a hotel," he smiled. "I want to be here. It's fine."

"Everyone's staying here, Oliver!" Arizona announced. "Sure, Grandma and Grandpa are getting more use out of your room than you are, but still."

"That'll change one day," Callie said. "When we decide he's ready for his crib."

"Which won't be anytime soon," Arizona pointed out. "You didn't want him to nap in it!"

"It's so nice having him so close," she smiled. "That's all."

"I know."


	22. Family

**I'm sorry about the lack of updates lately. I've been having a really emotional week. Plus, I've been really busy with school. Anyways, here's another update.**

* * *

><p>"Such a perfect family," the photographer who had come to the apartment to take Oliver's newborn portraits commented as she captured tender moments between the new moms and their new baby boy.<p>

"Are we perfect?" Callie asked.

For this particular shot, she and her wife were lying down with their five-day-old in between them. Madre turned and kissed his cheek, prompting the photographer to snap another shot.

"I think we're pretty perfect," Arizona decided.

Oliver began fussing, so Madre picked him up and laid him down on her chest. She thought this would interrupt the photo session, but the photographer kept on taking pictures. She figured that a moment of a mom being able to soothe her son was just as beautiful as a moment of the mommies and their happy baby.

"He's cold," Arizona said.

For the sake of the photos, Oliver only had a diaper on, but he didn't really care that it made for nice pictures. He wanted to be covered up, and he wanted it now.

Grandma came over with the blanket that her grandson's birth parents had given him, which had his name on it. Madre laid him back down where he had been and the blanket went on top.

"Is that better?" Barbara asked the little boy.

"There," the photographer said. "Your blanket's nice for pictures and it keeps you happy."

"Say 'it's from my birth parents!'" Callie told Oliver, finding it great that it was now being showcased in the newborn portraits. She wasn't sure why she and her wife hadn't thought about it already.

"Cool," she smiled.

Oliver kicked his blanket off. "Well, don't do that, silly boy!" Arizona said. "You wanted the blanket, remember?"

"I don't think you know what you want, do you?" Callie asked. "But we're getting great pictures. When you're a big boy, we'll be able to look back and say 'remember when Oliver was just little?'"

"Shh…" Mommy replied. "No big talk."

* * *

><p>The next day, everyone was still working on putting the furniture back in its usual places. They had moved most of it so that they could take pictures easier, but in just a few hours they would be hosting a party for Mr. Oliver, so they wanted everything back to normal.<p>

They hadn't had a baby shower to celebrate Oliver because they just felt that it would be much more appropriate to have a celebration when they brought him home. Now that he was settling in, it felt like time to invite everyone over to enjoy him.

"We could use this as an opportunity to rearrange the living room," Arizona suggested.

"We just figured out how to make all of the baby stuff fit," Callie said. "How else do you wanna squish the swing and everything else in and still have room to walk around?"

Arizona kissed Oliver's head. "You come with a lot of stuff for such a tiny man," she said. "Madre's kinda right."

"Oliver calls all the shots now," Abuelo said.

"Boy, is that right," Callie laughed.

Their boy was clearly the center of their universe. They didn't have him on a schedule yet, and they somewhat doubted that a real routine would ever really form given the hours that they worked. Their world ran on Oliver time now. They slept only when Oliver was asleep. They ate only when Oliver didn't need to be fed or changed first. Even showering was a challenge if somebody wasn't up to watch the little man. Of course, all of this was typical of any newborn and they wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact, if they were telling the truth, they liked sitting up at night just watching him sleep, even if it meant that they were exhausted the next morning.

"You should, huh?" Arizona asked, taking the baby from her wife. "Because you're so special."

"He's gonna have the biggest ego ever."

"Nah," she replied. "Uncle Mark does."

"True," Callie had to agree.

"Plus, there's nothing wrong with letting him know he's loved," Arizona smiled. "Huh, Handsome?"

Oliver appeared to smile and his mommy lit up. "He's smiling," she said. "Hi, Happy Boy!"

"Arizona, you're a pediatric surgeon," Callie replied.

"Okay, so it's not actually a real smile yet," she admitted. "Fine. Still. It's super cute."

"Obviously."

"I'll call it a smile, 'kay?" she told their boy as she put her nose up against his and then kissed him.

"You were smiling at a week old," Callie's dad told her.

"Again, that's impossible," Callie replied. "Babies can't genuinely smile at that age. It's gas or a reflex. They don't mean to smile."

"Madre's gotta get all technical," Arizona told Oliver. "Tell her! Say 'just look at my smiles!'" She held the baby up to his madre and he "smiled" again. "Whatever they are, we like 'em!"

"I didn't say I didn't like them," Callie replied. "Of course I do!"

She took the baby back from Arizona. "This would probably go faster if we didn't all just keep passing him around all day," Arizona considered.

"But what fun would that be?" Grandma asked.

"They're only this little once," her husband added.

"I know," Arizona smiled, watching Callie cuddle their son in close.

"We're just enjoying you, huh?" Callie asked Oliver.

* * *

><p>Uncle Mark, Auntie Lexie, and Greyson ended up coming over a few minutes before the party was supposed to start, and the additional hands made putting everything back in it's place go much smoother.<p>

"All better boys!" Arizona told the babies. "Are you ready for the party?"

"I know Greyson is, right?" Lexie smiled at her son. "Greyson loves having so much attention."

The little boy started giggling. "You like gettin' lots of love, huh?" Callie asked him. "Oliver does, too! Well, so far."

There was a knock at the door and Arizona went to answer it. "Hi," Bailey said. "I can't stay. I have to get back to the hospital, but I just wanted to drop this off."

She handed over a gift wrapped in what Arizona thought was the perfect paper for a little boy gift. It had little cartoon-like trucks all over it.

"Look at this, Oliver!"

"Tuck picked the paper out," Bailey explained.

"It's so cute."

"Open it up," Callie said. "Bailey doesn't have all day."

Arizona laughed. "Okay."

She opened it to find that inside was a picture frame that matched the decorating style of their living room. On it, it simply said the word "Family" in big bold letters.

"I figured you'd have plenty of clothes and everything else," she said. "But you'd have tons of pictures and not a lot of places to put them."

"It's perfect," Callie said. "Thanks, Bailey."

"We'll have to put one the pictures we took yesterday in there, right?" Arizona asked the baby. "It'll be great."

* * *

><p>The photographer happened to get their pictures back to them extremely quickly. It only took her a few days to get them ready. She said that she wanted to get them done before the rush of clients wanting Christmas photos came along. If they weren't done by then, she was worried that it would take forever.<p>

Callie was feeding their eight-day-old boy as Mommy hung the frame on the wall once the family picture they liked most was in there. "Mommy's putting it up there so that we can see it all the time."

"What do you think, Oliver?" Arizona asked. "Does it look good?"

"It's beautiful," Grandma smiled.

"Did you know we're a family now?" Callie asked her son.

That simple word held so much more meaning now. They almost didn't get to have the family they wanted so badly. They almost weren't moms. Now, thanks to one family wanting the best for this gorgeous boy, the Robbins-Torres family got to have their missing member. They couldn't have been any more thrilled about it.


End file.
